Rescuing Max
by Animation Universe 2005
Summary: Musaki, Arizona and Max go on this boat trip and all three of them are separated from each oter during a storm and end up in a deserted island. Will Musaki and Arizona find Max in time? This is dedictatd to Nightfuryx and I hope you guys like! Rated T for violence and language, but mostly violence. Hope it'll be suspenseful enough for ya in later chapters. Enjoy!
1. Enjoying Company

This idea came into my head in Christmas 2011 and I started imagining what if Musaki, Arizona and Max were stranded in a deserted island and were separated? In this one, I decided to test Arizona and Max's brotherhood and see what might happen if Arizona is separated from Max.

Warning: this may have some intense yet crazy violence and some mild language...but mostly action violence. Enjoy!

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Rescuing Max

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Enjoying Company

It was a clear, summer day in the Valley of Peace and Arizona walks around the valley, making his way back to the Jade Palace and as he was walking, he walks past Mako's village and he sees Max sitting on the porch and not long after, Max gave him a wave and Arizona comes over there and he said, "Hey, buddy. How's it going?"

The young white tiger cub looks over at Arizona and he replied, "Pretty good."

Arizona comes over and hugs Max and high-fived each other all while they're laughing with each other and Max asked, "So...where were ya going?"

Arizona lets out a deep exhale and replied, "Just heading back to the Jade Palace after a little walk. I think I needed it after some crazy training."

Max giggled a little bit and he said, "I bet you might be sleepy."

Arizona cracked a smile and he pats Max on the head and said, "Yeah, I guess I am. But that's pretty much how you train everyday."

Max was also curious to see which new moves Arizona made during his training and he asked, "Can you show me what new moves you have?"

The young grey wolf was surprised to hear this come out of a seven and a half year old tiger cub's mouth after he heard him ask what moves he'd like to see and it intrigued Arizona the most and he said, "All right, sure. Might want to get some space though."

Arizona stood up, stretched his body up a little bit and with Max beside him, Arizona started off with a basic stance and did a high kick in the air with his leg and whatever move Arizona did, Max would copy it and make it even better, which also impressed Arizona a lot. As he continued on, Max completely wanted to do everything Arizona would do because he still sees him as his brother, despite the fact that they're two totally different species.

Later on, Max punches Arizona's paws to form his exercise and Arizona was surprised when he punches them harder and faster and when he punches it on the stomach, Arizona groans in pain and lays flat down on his back and Max was a little afraid that he might've hurt him and he walks over to him and he asked, "Are you okay?"

Unbeknownst to Max, Arizona tilts his head towards him and replied, "Yep!"

That surprised Max when he found out that he was okay and Arizona started laughing as he got up and Max was in relief that he's just fine and he said, "I'm sorry I hit you."

Arizona dusted himself off and he said, "You're good, Max. Just remember not to overdo it too much, okay?"

"Okay." Max said.

Just then, Musaki comes over and he sees Arizona carrying Max on his back, just running around and laughing with each other, having some fun and Musaki could see that these two really get along so well almost as if Arizona is an extended member of his family. Soon enough, Arizona stops and sees Musaki standing in front of him and he said, "Hey, Musaki. Didn't see ya there."

Max pops out and he said, "Hiya, cuz!"

Musaki smiled at Max and he said, "Hey, Max. Glad to see you're having fun with Arizona."

Arizona sets Max down to the ground and then, Max comes over and gives Musaki a hug and he graciously hugged back and he took a quick look at him and sees that he's growing a little and he said, "Whoa, Max...you're getting a little bigger, aren't ya?"

Max nodded his head quickly and said, "Yeah. I might be even bigger than my brothers!"

Arizona was also surprised to hear this as well and he comes down to Max's level and he said, "Think you could take me down when you're much bigger than that?"

"Yeah!" Max said, excitedly.

Musaki comes over to Arizona and he said, "Shifu told me to find you because we have to spar together."

Arizona was completely ready for this and he said, "All right, I'll be there."

Max looks at Arizona for a second and he asked, "Do you have to go?"

Arizona looks at him and he got down to his level again and he said, "Yeah, little buddy. Me and Musaki have some training to do."

Then he got close to Max's ear and whispered out, "I'm gonna kick Musaki's butt this time."

Max started snickering at this and that obviously made Musaki a little annoyed to hear this and he said, "Dude, I can hear you. Besides, I'll kick yours...again."

Arizona turns back to Max and he said, "Wish me luck, buddy."

Max nods his head and he hugged Arizona yet again and Arizona hugged him back in a big way and they waved 'bye' to each other and as they walked back, Musaki said, "Last one in the training hall gets to spar with Po for a week!"

Arizona chuckled at that comment and he said, "I don't think so!"

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Great beginning of this story, right? A slight little change about Max...I reduced his age to seven years old, soon to be eight because I wanted him to be young and innocent, but still be timid and a little scared around strangers at times. Don't worry. Arizona is still 17, soon to be 18. Hope that clears it up. Well, it just got started and there's more coming up!


	2. Great Idea for Vacation

And here's where this adventure begins!

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Chapter 2: Great Idea for Vacation

At the training hall, Musaki began to spar with Tigress, which is something he was dreading but was able to get it over with while Arizona begins to spar with Po, in which Musaki got in the training hall first and that he's gonna spar with Po for a week. Tigress glanced at Musaki like she was ready to throw down while Musaki plays it cool, showing no fear at all.

"You scared?" asked Tigress, in a menacing tone.

All Musaki could do is just reply, "Eh."

That response immediately set her off and swung at his face, but Musaki grabbed her fist, spun her around and threw her against the wall as hard as he could, which made Tigress pissed and she lets out a ferocious roar directly to his face and to her surprise, Musaki isn't really affected by it and he asked, "Meh..."

Musaki tripped her leg, which caused her to fall down and she got abck up and sparred with him nonstop until his fear starts to sink in, which obviously did not happen and Musaki fought back with every chance he could get, even showing his new technique to her; grab her by two wrists, spin her in rapid-speed, throw her in the air and then jump up and bash her head down with his head. Musaki rubbed his head to avoid getting a concussion but it was definitely worth showing off this new trick.

Tigress groans heavily as she stood up with her head pounding after that bashing concussion and she looked up at Musaki and she growled at him and couldn't believe that she would lose out to him again.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Po began sparring with Arizona and they got more quick and aggressive than ever as Po punches, kicks and spins around Arizona with his fists while Arizona took Po down very quickly with his newfound backflip and kick moves where he does a backflip, stands on two hands and when Po got closer to him, they were met by Arizona's feet, thus kicking him in the face and then stands on his legs again and triple-punches him down.

Po could not believe how much stronger he's gotten since his time in the Jade Palace over a year ago and then, he runs over to Arizona and slams him down with his belly, causing the young wolf to roll over on the ground, but even that didn't stop him from being determined to take him down again as he punches him straight in the gut and kicks him in the head.

Arizona panted heavily as a little sweat drips down on his spiky mohawk and he went over to Po and said, "Looks like I got enough strength to take down Musaki."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

Arizona looked up and he saw Musaki standing on the stairs outside on the courtyard and he lets out a smirk and he said, "All right. Let's have it out. This time, I know I'm gonna beat ya!"

"That's if you don't land on your butt...again." Musaki added.

Back at the training hall

Musaki and Arizona stared at each other in the faces and Arizona felt like redemption is very near in his face as he's about to bring Musaki down and prove himself that he's gained a lot more strength in over a year. Musaki also stared at him and he figured that he'll be easy to take down and just as Shifu snapped his fingers, Musaki immediately charged at Arizona and for some reason, Arizona grabbed his arm and flipped him over and under him and threw him across the wall.

The rest of the masters gasped in surprise to see that Arizona quickly took out Musaki because they never expected him to be taken down unless it's someone else. Musaki gets himself up and continues to keep going, bringing out every move he could get, but Arizona's fighting skills overshadowed Musaki's skills as he backflipped, kicked, punched and aimed at Musaki in every chance he could get.

Arizona used that same tactic he used on Po to put it to use on Musaki and he excelled it very well, which adds to Musaki's surprise and the master's shock and amazement. Both of them continued to spar with each other until Shifu stopped for a minute and that's when both of them looked at each other again, panting heavily.

Shifu came over to both of them and he was totally torn because they both have amazing fighting skills and he was also shocked that Arizona has gained a lot more strength than ever and he looks over at Musaki first and said, "Excellent form, Musaki."

Then, Shifu turned to Arizona for a minute and the young wolf was ready to take the criticism based on his moves, assuming he might've screwed up a little...but Shifu told him, "But Arizona...your moves are astounding! I can tell you've gained a lot in your year of living with us."

That made Arizona really happy to hear that he's finally got what he received; a victory win because he's been beaten by Musaki since he first stepped in, so it was really great for him to have that break. He bowed to Shifu and said, "Thanks, master."

Musaki walks over to him and shook his hand and said, "Congrats, man. Guess I got my own butt being taken down by a wolf."

Arizona chuckled at that comment and said, "All these 12 months of living here has changed me for the better."

"And you're not 18 yet."

Arizona rolled his eyes at that and said, "Not for 2 months anyway."

A few hours later, Musaki catches Arizona sitting in the Peach Tree, not only contemplating on his first victory of beating Musaki, but also thinking about spending a little time with Max again. Arizona turns around and sees Musaki behind him and as he sat down next to him, Musaki asked, "What's on ya mind?"

Arizona lets out an exhale and said, "Plenty. What I really need is a little vacation from all of this. But most importantly to spend that with my best buddy."

Musaki automatically knew what Arizona was saying when the term 'best buddy' came out and that person he mentioned was Max. He looks up at him and said, "Since you guys met last year, you've been like best friends."

"Oh, yeah. We're tight. It's kinda cool for a tiger like him to see a wolf like me as his brother. But sometimes, I have worries about will I ever be a good brother to him, like what if I screw up?" Arizona added.

Musaki puts his hand on Arizona's shoulder and said, "Hey, every brother relationships has its ups and downs, but I know you're a good wolf brother to my cuz."

Arizona nodded his head in agreement with that and lets out a heavy sigh and said, "I just wish we can spend some time together."

Musaki suddenly had an idea come out of his head and he said, "How about a little boat trip? Just me, you and Max just sailing through the ocean, get away from it all?"

Arizona widened his eyes on that idea and had always wondered what a huge ocean would look like and he said, "Great idea. I've always wanted to see the ocean."

"Yeah. That'd be awesome! That way, you and Max can like hang out together and just look a the big blue ocean." Musaki said, happily.

"I'm convinced. Besides, both of us need a vacation from kung-fu." Arizona added, ending with a laugh.

"I don't blame ya, dude."

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And how does the masters respond to that? You'll get your answer in the next chapter!


	3. Setting Sail

And the vacation begins! You may ask 'where's the drama?' It's coming, I promise! Also, thanks for the big reviews! Highly appreciated, especially from my online BFF for three years, Wonder Panda Tan-Tan. Anyways...back to the story!

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Chapter 3: Setting Sail

Not long after that, Musaki explained the entire plan to everyone else and most of them didn't know how to respond to the fact that he and Arizona would take a boat ride and Shifu asked, "Why on earth would you think of taking a boat ride just to see the ocean?"

Arizona tilts his head over with that concept and responded, "I always wanted to see what the entire ocean looks like. I've seen parts of it, but what I really like is to see oceans I've never seen before."

"Well, where are you gonna go?" asked Tigress.

Musaki and Arizona glared at Tigress for that question she just asked and Arizona responded, "Does it really matter where we go? Wherever the ocean takes us."

Tigress folded her arms on this and she seemed very jealous of the fact that they might go on a boat trip and she said, "Maybe I would accompany you on this trip."

"Actually, it's sort of a three-person thing. Just me, Musaki and Max." Arizona stated.

That shocked Tigress the most when he mentioned that Max is gonna be on the trip as well and she said, "Why would Max go?"

"He's like a little brother to me so I figured that maybe it'll give me an opportunity for us to bond." Arizona replied.

Viper looked at both of them and she said, "I think it's a great idea. Maybe you guys have a chance to go on an adventure on your own."

Musaki became intrigued with what Viper said and he asked, "It is?"

"It is?" asked Tigress and Shifu, in unison.

Viper turned to both of them and she said, "Yes."

"And we'll have Max with us everywhere we go." Musaki added.

Po then turned to both of them and said, "How long will you guys be gone?"

Arizona and Musaki turned to each other and didn't really think how long they'll be away, so Arizona scratched the back of his head while Musaki thought long and hard about this and he said, "Like...maybe a week or so."

"A week?" everyone exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's not like we're going away forever or something. It's just a chance for the three of us to do something together." Musaki said.

"One little thing though...were you planning on telling Max about this?" asked Crane.

Arizona nodded his head quickly and he said, "That's pretty much the reason why I want to spend time with Max because I love to hang out with him. Since last year, we've become closer than anything."

Shifu could instantly reminsce the time that Max became closer to Arizona in a short amount of time since he first set foot in the Jade Palace before the events of his birth mom coming back for him and how closer they really got afterwards and he turned to Arizona and asked, "You two are like brothers, are you?"

Arizona nodded his head and he said, "I know it's weird for a young tiger cub to look up to one wolf as a brother, but I can't help it. I just wanna be a good brother to him."

Shifu lets out a little sigh and rubbed his temple, still unsure to let Musaki and Arizona go on a boat trip, but at the same time, the boys felt like they needed a little break from training for a while and he turns to both of them and said, "Just make sure you don't get seasick."

That sound meant that they're officially going on a boat trip and Arizona and Musaki bowed to their master and said, "Thanks, master."

As they left the kitchen, Po looked at Shifu and he said, "Maybe you should've let me go with them. I would've liked to see a big ocean."

"Po, even if you would go on a boat trip, the ocean still isn't big enough for you to handle." Shifu said.

"Or a boat." Monkey added.

Sometime later this week, Arizona made his way to Mako's place and when he got there, he saw Max along with Cody, Tsunami and Samurai sitting in the front porch, just talking and when he got there, he started explaining the idea of taking Max on a vacation with him and Musaki and right away, when he mentioned going on a boat ride, the older brothers were really enthusiastic about this and they know that Musaki's very well-trusted with Max and the same goes with Arizona and it made Max more excited to go with Arizona and he hugged him on his waist tightly and Arizona patted him on his head.

"I guess wherever you go, he goes too." Samurai added.

"Yeah, our Max is stuck to you like glue." Cody said, with a chuckle.

Arizona smiled at that comment and Tsunami went over to him and said, "Just promise us that you'll bring him back to us safe and sound."

"I promise." Arizona said.

Two days later, Musaki, Arizona and Max got their stuff packed up and they were off on their boat trip and as they left the Jade Palace, Max was very excited to go on an adventure with Arizona and it was the best thing that ever happened.

Soon enough, they seek a boat heading for Eastern China and they were eager with the size of it, it was a lot bigger than anything and as they headed towards the dock, one boat goose comes in and said, "You guys heading on a boat trip?"

"Yep. Just the three of us." Musaki added.

As they got their stuff inside of the boat, the goose let go of the ropes and let the boat set sail towards Eastern China and only 5 minutes in, Max looks over at the boat and sees the entire ocean from there and soon enough, Arizona was right behind him and he couldn't believe the view of the crystal clear blue ocean and just took it all in.

"It's awesome, isn't it?" asked Arizona.

Max looks over at the ocean and he said, "Yeah. I've never seen an ocean like this big."

Arizona looks over at Max and he said, "Like how big?"

Max stretched his arms out wide as if the sea was bigger and Arizona could tell that he was amazed by how big it is and he said, "You got big eyes for a seven year old."

"Almost eight."

Arizona patted Max on the shoulder and he said, "This is gonna be a great journey, just you, me and Musaki."

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Awesome sight, huh? And on the next chapter...the drama begins! And to the anonoymous reviwer, Alpha tiger...hope you like this fic too.


	4. Alpha Pack vs One Omega

This chapter is dedicated to Tyson the Wolf Omega and his OC character, Ryo.

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Chapter 4: Alpha Pack vs. One Omega

About two days into the boat trip and Arizona looks over at the ocean from a spectacular view from above and he felt the wind blowing through his grey fur and stroking his dark mohawk, feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. He lets out a big sigh and he said, "I'm on top of the world."

When the boat came to a stop, Arizona took a little walk through the dock and he decided to just take a look in the ocean again before continuing setting sail, so he sat down to the ground and took it all in. Soon enough, he laid down flat on his back with his paws around his head, taking it easy for a while.

20 minutes later, he heard some rustling coming from behind and he opens his eyes and looks around to see who's making that noise. He might assume it's either someone coming to start a fight or if someone's playing a joke on him and in either situation, Arizona was determined to find out who it is and when he stood up, he got in his kung-fu stance and exclaimed, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Soon enough, to his surprise, a group of brown furred wolves came out of there and they don't seem to be that friendly to Arizona and one leader came over to Arizona and he stared at him assuming that someone like him has stepped into their turf.

He takes a sniff on Arizona, in which he was immediately annoyed by it and the leader said, "We've got an unwanted Omega for a trespasser."

When he spat out the word 'Omega', Arizona lowered his eyebrows down and he immediately could tell that there was a group of wolves that he completely disliked the most.

Arizona gritted his teeth and lets out a low growl and he said, "Alphas. Look, I didn't come here for any trouble. I just came to take a rest during a break from boating."

The alpha pack started laughing at Arizona and the leader came close to him and he said, "Do you know what we do to Omegas who step into our territory?"

"Your territory?" asked Arizona, in anger.

The leader looks over at his pack and he said, "You hear this? Obviously, he doesn't know that he stepped into our turf."

One pack member went over to Arizona and shove him down to the ground and started laughing at him, which made Arizona very furious and he immediately tripped over his legs and Arizona said, "Big mistake, dude."

The leader grabbed Arizona's shoulders, lets out an angry growl and said, "No, _**you **_are the one that made a _**BIG **_mistake! I, Shamus, will not have this disrespect coming from someone like you!"

Arizona shoved Shamus down onto the ground and for the pack members, they felt like it was war and Shamus stood up and said, "Alphas! Kick this Omega's ass and make it hurt!"

The wolves immediately barked at Arizona and planned to attack him and resorted into beating him and Arizona fought them all back and as long as it lasted, it was Arizona that took a serious beating...which resulted into getting a black eye. But the Alphas continued to take shots at Arizona and one member said, "This dude can fight, but he fights like a sissy!"

It definitely triggered Arizona's anger and he was definitely pissed that some of the Alphas had the nerve to call him a sissy as everyone's laughing at him and Arizona shouted, "Shut up!"

"Kiss my ass, Omega!" one Alpha member said, slapping his butt to taunt Arizona.

Shamus looked like he was not imtimidated by Arizona's serious face and he said, "You wouldn't last a minute with our pack!"

"I wouldn't be anywhere near your damn pack anyway!" Arizona shouted, apparently getting irate.

One female Alpha member went over to Arizona and she inadvertedly slapped him in the face and laughs at his face and said, "Yeah, you wouldn't be my type I'd mate with."

Arizona walks away from the Alphas, but Shamus wasn't quite down with him and he yanked his tail, which made Arizona howl out loud and shove him down into the water, his fur all soaking wet. All the other Alphas pointed and laughed at him and Arizona looked very angry, embarassed and humiliated...all at the same time. He gets himself up and said, "You think you Alphas know it all, don't ya? You're nothing but a bunch of immature jackasses!"

"No, the only jackass is the Omega himself! Get lost, loser!" Shamus said, sticking out his tongue at him.

Arizona growled at him and planned to teach him a lesson but as he was about to get out of the water, he slipped and fell back down into the water, making the Alphas laughter intensify and Arizona's anger come to a boiling point and screamed, "SCREW YOU!"

As Arizona tried to get back onto shore and into the boat, one younger Alpha ran up to him and kicked him in the butt, making Arizona fall down again and he went up to him and kicked him in the groin and Arizona started groaning in pain.

"Kicked ya in the Omega balls, Omega loser!" the younger Alpha wolf said, laughing.

Arizona gets himself up and holds onto his crotch and as he looked back, Arizona growled at all of them as he tried to get back into the boat, all soaked and he screamed out, "Damn you, Alpha bastards!"

"Oh, shut up and take your Omega ass out of here, dude!" Shamus exclaimed.

When he got onto the boat, Arizona walked in very pissed, angry and humiliated that the Alpha's ultimately gave him a hard time and he started muttering angrily, evenutally spitting out the words, "Man, I hate Alphas."

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Sorry about the unlimited use of language in this fic. You get to see Arizona's anger and his hatred for Alpha wolves in this one. On the next chapter...well this is pretty much how the whole drama begins.


	5. Anger and Regrets

Arizona still gets angry and the unfortunate thing...he takes it out on his best buddy.

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Chapter 5: Anger and Regrets

Arizona made his way inside the boat, still angry and furious that the Alpha's gave him a hard time and went over to his room to clean himself up and when he saw Max coming out of his room, he didn't bother looking at him or noticing that he was there, which concerned Max into thinking something might've gone wrong. He walks over to him and asked, "You okay, Arizona?"

Arizona completely ignores him, to which Max thought was slightly weird because normally Arizona would respond back to him and instead...nothing comes out. When Max followed Arizona on his way to the room, the young wolf could tell that he was starting to get irritated with Max and he said, "Can you stop following me, Max?"

The sound of Arizona's tone in his voice was full of bitterness and anger and that was something Max wasn't used to him seeing because he was nice and friendly and he followed him anyway and Arizona looks back and he sees Max behind him and he was on the verge of losing it at any minute and he said, "Max, please leave me alone. I don't wanna talk to you right now."

"But Arizona..."

That completely triggered Arizona's nerves and once he reaches his room, he said, "Max, you're getting on my nerves right now! I just need a minute alone for once!"

Max looked a little scared to see Arizona like this and he asked, "I'm sorry. I just thought that..."

"That what? That you'd get in my case for no reason? Just follow me when I'm freakin' soaking wet?" Arizona shouted.

"No, I..."

Arizona didn't even want to hear anything that Max was gonna say and he growled at him and said, "What I want you to do is leave me alone! I don't even wanna be around you anymore, nor do I wanna see you, talk to you or even hang around with you! JUST GET AWAY FROM ME AND I WANT TO BE ALONE FOR THE REST OF THE DAY, GOT IT? SO GET OUT OF MY FACE BEFORE I GET MAD!"

He slammed the door on Max's face and Max felt like his only wolf brother just yelled at him and he didn't really know what to do, but in Max's face, he was definitely hurt by the fact that he was shunned by Arizona. He lowered his head down and slowly walked his way back to his room, then he looks back at Arizona's door for a second and he went back to his room, with tears in his eyes and he hops on his bed, crying.

Max was unaware that Musaki stood there in the hallway, potentially overhearing what had happened and when he entered inside Max's room, he sat down on his bed and puts his paw on Max's shoulder and when Max turns around and sees Musaki, he immediately went over to him and hugged him tightly, resulting in crying on his cousin's arms.

"Why is Arizona so mean to me? I thought that...we were friends." asked Max, tearfully.

Musaki didn't know what might've caused it to happen because he wasn't there at the time, but he was determined to find out what happened anyway and he looks back on Max and he said, "I don't really know, but I'll talk to Arizona for you."

Musaki knows that Arizona would never hurt anyone's feelings, but he was surprised to see that he might've hurt Max for the first time and he wiped his cousin's tears from his eyes and he said, "Tell me everything that had happened."

Max lets out a few sniffs and he said, "I don't know. I woke up from my nap and I saw Arizona soaking wet and he looked angry, so I wanted to know what was wrong with him and the next thing I knew, he yelled at me and slammed the door in my face."

Once Musaki had Max's answer, he wanted to set it right but wanted to wait until Arizona's cooled off to explain what went down and he said, "Don't worry. I'm sure when he calms down, we'll work it out."

Max looks at Musaki with tears in his eyes and he sat down on his bed, curling himself into a ball and resumed crying. Musaki rubbed his head and just left the room and felt completely overwhelmed with this; there would never be any drama between Max and Arizona because these two were tight and all of a sudden, it's like they're not friends anymore.

Nearly an hour has come by and Musaki walked his way over to Arizona's room and when he knocked on his door, he was unsure whethere Arizona was still mad or that he cooled himself off after this blow-up between him and Max.

"Who is it?" asked Arizona.

"It's Musaki."

When Musaki entered the room, he could see Arizona with only his towel wrapped around his waist because he could tell that he was just bathing and Arizona asked, "What do you want?"

Musaki sat down on his bed, looking concerned and he asked, "I want to talk to you. Like, are you okay?"

Arizona sighed heavily as he sat down on his bed further away from Musaki and he said, "No. I've gotten harassed by some stupid wolves."

Musaki didn't know whether he was talking about himself or if it was some other wolves that he was talking about and he asked, "Which are...?"

"Alpha's. Those stupid, tough, machismo bravado pieces of dog crap, always giving Omega's a hard time." Arizona said, angrily.

Suddenly, Musaki was familiar with those group of wolves, but he was also surprised to know that Arizona is an Omega, but he didn't really want to tackle that issue down and he wanted to go straight to what might've occured to make him pissed and he asked, "So...what happened?"

"One minute I was laying down on the ground, just letting the ocean relax me and the next thing I know, I got harassed by a couple of Alpha wolves. Just fighting me, making fun of me and I got kicked in the wolf nuts. I swear I wanted to tear the legs off of these Alpha jerks." Arizona said, in between growling.

Musaki could obviously see that Arizona was really mad about this and he said, "I'm guessing you don't like Alpha wolves."

"Had a bad history with every Alpha pack back in my days of being imprisoned in Dai Ling's army. Even back then, I hated them." Arizona retorted.

"I see."

Musaki scratched his head and felt like it's a good time to just change the subject and talk about Max and he then said, "Now that we got that out of the way, I kinda wanted to ask you why you were so mean towards Max."

That subject obviously left Arizona confused for a second and he turned to Musaki and he asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Max kinda told me that you yelled at him earlier today. I sorta overheard this conversation through the hall and...it was not a pretty sight. I think you might've scared my cousin."

He then thought about what Musaki had said and then something in his head rewound his way to the part where Arizona yelled at Max and he heard those words spat out directly towards him and soon enough, he realized that he actually did take his anger out on Max and that it was clearly a lapse in judgment that he yelled at his tiger brother.

Suddenly, he laid down on his bed with his hands covering his face in deep regret that he hurt little Max's feelings and he asked, "What did I say to him?"

"You sorta told him that you didn't want to see him, talk to him, hang around with him or even be around him anymore and that he should get out before you get mad. When I went to check to see if Max is okay, I heard him crying and he asked me, 'Why is Arizona so mean to me? I thought he was my best friend.'

Arizona uncovered his eyes and because of his anger directed at the Alpha wolves' conduct, he purposefully took his anger out on Max and it might've hurt the tiger cub's feelings and for a long time, there was silence growing in and he realized that he broke the cub's heart and it left him feeling guilty and said, "I didn't mean to yell at him. I guess I was still angry and upset over what had happened back there with these damn Alpha's, that I hurt my little buddy's feelings."

"You lost your cool." Musaki added.

Arizona lets out a sad sigh and he said, "I knew that I was gonna screw it up and I screwed up being Max's wolf brother in a big way."

Musaki comes over to him and he puts his paw over Arizona's shoulder and said, "You made a mistake. I know you didn't mean to yell at my cousin on purpose."

"He just wanted to know if I was okay and I lost it. I didn't even give him a chance to explain and it ended with me just being so mean to him."

Musaki stood up and he said, "You can still set it right. Max will forgive you."

Arizona was a little scared to know that after what had happened, it would never occur and he said, "What if...what if Max doesn't forgive me?"

"He will. You promised you'll be by his side, right?"

"Always."

Musaki then went behind the door to Arizona's room and asked, "And have you ever broke a promise?"

Arizona's ears drooped down and lowered his head again as a sign that he might've started, but he knows wholeheartedly that he would never break a promise to Max and he silently said, "No."

Musaki figured he was gonna give Arizona some time to gather his thoughts and he said, "Give him some time, man."

* * *

Now this is gonna be told in Arizona's P.O.V.

* * *

Arizona's P.O.V.

As soon as Musaki left the room, I knew that I was gonna have to apologize to Max sooner or later, but for some reason, I felt really afraid to find out what I was gonna say to him. After I dried myself off and put on my khaki shorts, I laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling for a while. Max didn't really get on my nerves when I walked back to the boat soaking wet. He just wanted to know if I'm okay and why was I mad. That was all he was doing and I fully blew up at him for no reason.

What kind of brother am I to do that to my little tiger buddy? I got up for a second and slowly crept out of my room to see if Max is okay, but my extra sense of hearing led me to listening to something I dreaded listening; hearing Max cry. It made me feel really bad like a huge scar has been stuck inside of me that won't heal itself that I did this. I felt like I was gonna cry too and it was one mistake that I didn't mean to make.

I quietly went back to my room and went back to my bed for a second and I felt one tear coming under my eye and I lowered my head down and began crying. How was I such a jerk to Max? I didn't really mean to make him cry or hurt his feelings.

I laid my head down against the bed and let my tears fall down and I whispered, "I'm sorry, Max."

* * *

Normal P.O.V.

A few hours had passed and it grew into night and Max was falling asleep in his bed, but his face was soaked with tears and there were tear streaks down his cheeks and his whiskers was messed up, so he had been crying himself to sleep for the longest time. Not long after, he was awakened by strikes of lightning and sounds of thunder and he hid under the covers, placing his ears around his pillow to avoid hearing the thunder rumbling so loud.

But somehow, the thunder grew louder and louder and Max was actually shaking because he was so terrified of thunderstorms.

"I don't like thunder." Max said, fearfully.

Not long after, more sounds of thunder comes in and it totally frightened Max to the inth degree and he actually started crying again and he quickly got out of his room and wanted to sleep in Arizona's room, but decided not to because he didn't want to bother him anymore so he walked towards the hallway of the ship while the lightning strikes, which also scared him the most.

Max started whimpering and when he decided to head over to Musaki's room, he heard some creaking sounds come out of nowhere and he quickly grew more afraid than anything and he quietly tiptoed through the ship to find out where it came from.

Meanwhile, Arizona couldn't sleep because he wanted to apologize to Max and also to comfort him because he knows his phobia of thunderstorms, so got out of his bed, looks around the hallway to see if anyone's here and heads directly to Max's room. He was sighing nervously because he wasn't sure how Max would either be mad or feel so hurt that he didn't want to see him anymore, but he was hoping that maybe he might need his wolf brother to comfort him through the storm.

He knocked on his door and he said, in a soft tone, "Hey, Max. Are you awake? Listen, I know that what I said to you earlier...I didn't really mean it. I was just mad, you know? But I wasn't mad at you."

Silence was filled in the room and Arizona assumed that Max didn't want to hear what he was saying and he said, "Don't be mad at me, little buddy. I used to get yelled at too when I was younger. Is it okay if I come in?"

Arizona didn't want to wake Max up and when he slowly opened the door, he walks in and to his surprise, all he saw was his covers sticking out and somehow, there was no Max in the room. When Arizona heard the sounds of thunder, he was in a panic-mode thinking Max might've been lost and he asked, "Max? Where are you?"

* * *

Where'd Max go? You'll get that answer on the next chapter!


	6. Lost in Sea

And here's where I dubbed the fic in the Suspense category.

* * *

Chapter 6: Lost in Sea

Arizona quickly ran to Musaki's room and he shook him up, causing Musaki to groan in his sleep and when he turned around, he saw Arizona standing there and he asked, sluggishly, "What do you want?"

The young wolf was completely panicking and he said, "Max is gone."

That confused Musaki for a second and he asked, "What do you mean he's gone?"

"I meant he's not in his room! I was going in there to apologize to him and when I entered, he was gone!" Max exclaimed, fearfully.

Musaki could quickly analyze Arizona's fear and he got up from his bed and when they reached Max's bedroom, it was empty. Musaki turned to Arizona for a second and he asked, "Where do you think he might've gone?"

The sound of the thunder crackling quickly alarmed both of them as they realized that there was a possible chance that Max might be walking in the middle of a storm and they quickly ran towards the hallways on the boat trying to find him.

Meanwhile, Max walked near the steps out of the hallway and as soon as he went outside, he could hear some more creaking sounds coming out and he slowly walked out of there, but he was surprised that it was raining like crazy and the wind started blowing hard, preventing Max from going forward. He quickly ran out and when he got to the other side of the ship, lightning struck twice and he saw an Alpha wolf coming up and from the looks of it, Max was terrified.

The Alpha wolf growled at Max and he asked, "Who are you?"

Max backed away slowly and he started trembling in fear as the older wolf tries to come closer to him and as soon as Max was about to run back, the Alpha wolf quickly grabbed him by the tail, in which Max fell down and was suddenly dragged by him, started screaming for help. The Alpha wolf threatened him with a knife placed over his neck if anyone heard him scream.

"Scream and I swear I will cut off your tongue!" the Alpha wolf screamed.

Max started screaming for help anyway and the Alpha wolf beats him down hard and Max screamed, "Let me go!"

And then, the look in the Alpha wolf's eyes filled Max with a huge amount of terror because he has only a half mangled face and that made Max scream out loud again and the Alpha wolf picks him up, slams him into a wall and he said, "Listen here, brat! You don't wanna mess with me because if you plan to tell anyone, your nine lives will be shortened to zero!"

Max bit his finger and he started running back to the inside of the ship, but he was cornered by that Alpha wolf, in which he's growling at him and said, "I've given you proper warning! Now, you'll taste death by sea!"

He picks up Max and he drags him towards the end of the boat and plans to drop him and Max was definitely frightened to die and he said, "Help me! Somebody please help me!"

"Shut up! No one's here to save you now!" the Alpha wolf screamed.

"Wanna bet?"

The Alpha wolf turned around and suddenly got punched in the face, causing him to let go of Max and suddenly, he got picked up by the tail and when Max looks up, he sees that it's Arizona holding him. Max could not have been more happier to see Arizona and he exclaimed, "Arizona, you saved me!"

"Just hold on, buddy!" Arizona exclaimed.

The Alpha wolf was gonna kill both of them and as he got his knife to do so, he got tripped on the legs and soon enough, when he saw Musaki for the first time, the Alpha wolf growled at him and he said, "Who the hell are you?"

"Someone needs to have their mouth washed because there's a kid around here!" Musaki shouted.

Musaki and the Alpha wolf punched each other and pummeled him down and Musaki grabbed him by the neck and tried to put him in a chokehold, but the wolf beats him to the punch and slapped him in the face. Then, he shoved him out of the way and came back for Max, but Arizona scratched him in the face and pushed him down to the water.

After that, Arizona could feel that Max's hand was slipping and Max started whimpering, fearing that he'll drown and he said, "I can't hold on!"

"You have to!" Arizona exclaimed.

Just as Max was about to regain his grip, a huge wave came over and pummeled both of them and Max let go of Arizona's grasp and falls off the boat. Arizona looks over in horror and he screamed, "MAAAAX!"

He didn't see Max anywhere and definitely had a huge fear that he might've drowned and he tried calling his name numerous times, but he quickly heard small whimpering coming from under the boat and when he looked down, he saw Max on the other side in front of the boat and he quickly ran up to him and said, "Don't move! Your big bro is coming!"

"Hurry! I don't know how long I can hold on!" Max screamed.

"Give me your paw!"

Max stuck his paw out to reach Arizona, but his other hand was almost slipping out, causing him to nearly lose balance and soon enough, Arizona leaped out of the boat, grabbing his arm while holding onto the front of the ship. Arizona panted heavily and he said, "I'm here! Just hold on!"

"Please don't let go!" Max said.

But suddenly...it happened. Another wave pummels both of them hard and they were soaking wet, but they were still holding on and as the storm rages on, more waves came over and a ginormous one got to the ship and almost immediately, it slipped out of Max's hand, causing him to lose his grip and fall down in the ocean.

"NO! MAX!" Arizona screamed.

He looks down and hopes that he's still alive and what felt like forever, did he see Max popping in and out of the water, screaming for help. Arizona was scared that he might lose his only tiger brother, so he jumped out of the boat and landed into the river to save Max. Just then, Musaki looks down and he sees both Max and Arizona in the water and he knew that he was gonna save both of them, so he jumps out of the ship as well and get them back to safety.

But just as he got close to Max and Arizona, a huge wave shoves them down from the ocean, pummels them underwater and almost immediately, out pops Arizona and Musaki on side of the ocean and Arizona swims over to find Max and to his shock, he didn't see him anywhere.

"Max! Max! Where are you, buddy?" Arizona shouted.

"Max!" Musaki screamed.

Both of them called his name, but there was no response and Arizona was completely fearful that something might've happened to him and he said, "I gotta find Max!"

"Dude, the storm's too strong! We don't even know where he could be!" Musaki shouted.

"I don't care! I can't lose him and I know you can't lose him too!" Arizona added.

Just as they were set to swim to find Max, another huge wave comes in and crashes into them and plenty more waves shoves them underwater, eventually knocking them out on the impact. Both of them were floating unconscious in the water when the storm was beginning to subside.

Meanwhile, Max was also unconscious from the impact of the waves, but he's separated from his cousin and his wolf brother on the other side of it. Who knows where they'll end up?

* * *

Where are they gonna end up? Next chapter will have the answer to that.


	7. A Deserted Island

Well, here's your answer. This part is gonna be told in Max's P.O.V. and then back to normal P.O.V.

* * *

Chapter 7: A Deserted Island

Max's P.O.V.

I slowly opened my eyes and the sun was hitting my face and as I woke up, I looked down and saw that I was laying in the sand, near the ocean. Then, I looked around and I could tell that I was in an island. Which island, I really don't know. Then, I got up and as I'm looking around, I didn't know where I was or how I ended up here in the first place. The last memory I remember is when Arizona tried to save me while I was holding onto the boat during a big thunderstorm.

As I slowly walked around, there was no one there and I was hoping that maybe my cousin or Arizona was there with me because I really don't know where I am and I began to feel really scared.

"Musaki? Arizona?" I called out, in a soft voice.

I didn't hear anything back, so I tried calling them again, only more louder. But it was still nothing and I was hoping that it was all a bad dream.

"Musaki! Arizona! Where are you?" I yelled out, in fear.

I tried calling for them so many times, but no one could hear me and I didn't really know what to do. I heard some sounds coming out nowhere and I was really, really scared that someone might come and eat me and I backed away slowly and started running across parts of the island, hoping that I see either Musaki or Arizona with me.

Then, I went over to the forests of the island, hoping that they're here and when I tried calling them again, I heard some roaring and scary sounds that really came close to me and I quickly ran out as soon as possible and headed back where I found myself in.

It didn't take me long until I realized that I'm all alone in this island and it's the worst feeling ever. The fact that Arizona and Musaki aren't here...I couldn't do anything about it. And it really stinks. So I sat down on the sand, hugged my legs tightly, buried my face and all I could do is just start crying.

For a long time, that was all I could do. Because I really don't know where I am or where my cousin and my wolf brother could be and I'm all alone and scared.

I slowly raised my head up and my eyes were filled with tears and I asked, "Where are you guys? Why aren't you here?"

Normal P.O.V.

What Max didn't know is that on the other side of the same island, Musaki and Arizona were laying down on shore and Arizona slowly opened his eyes, lets out a groan and he looks up and sees himself laying in the sand near the water. He had no idea where he and Musaki what island they were in or how they got here.

Musaki slowly groans and he gets himself up and sees Arizona looking around and to Musaki's surprise, he also didn't know how they ended up here either.

Arizona turns around and sees Musaki standing up and he asked, "Where are we?"

Musaki looks over and he seeks an island with absolutely nothing and no sign on where they are and replied, "I don't know. How'd we ended up here anyway?"

It was all like a big blur to both of them, but Arizona remembers what had happened last time...a big storm coming in, an Alpha dog planning to kill Max for no reason, him trying to rescue Me from falling off the boat and the waves crashing into all three of them, separately. Suddenly, Max entered in his mind and he felt a twinge of fear and panic that Max isn't here.

He quickly looks at Musaki and he asked, "Where's Max?"

"I don't know. Last time I remember that we were both going to save him from drowning."

Both of them froze for a second and once they realize that Max could be lost, both of them stared calling his name but there was no reply from anywhere. Arizona suddenly felt really scared that something might've happened to him and Musaki had that same thought as well, but hopes that he'll still be alive.

Arizona sighed heavily and he said, "We're in a deserted island, aren't we?"

Musaki hesitated to reply to that answer, but to Arizona, the look on Musaki's face says it all. The young wolf groans heavily and has no clue on how they're gonna get out of this. Musaki went behind him and he said, "I hope Max is okay."

Arizona walked his way towards a tree and buried his face there, still feeling a ton of guilt that he treated Max horribly that one time and he whispered, "This is all my fault."

"So...what do we do to survive?" asked Musaki.

Arizona looks at Musaki for a second and he replied, "We need food, water, shelter and to keep ourselves warm. The most important thing is to work together to keep ourselves protected and safe...all while finding Max."

"He could anywhere by now." Musaki said, in a worried tone.

Arizona could share Musaki's worry and he blinked his eyes a couple of times and he said, "He's my little tiger brother...the only one I got."

Musaki places his hand on Arizona's shoulder and he said, "Don't worry. We will find him. The one thing we have to do is find him by going through every part of the island until we see him...all while we handle shelter, food, water and warmth."

Arizona nodded his head with that suggestion and he said, "That's a good idea."

"All we need to do is work together as a team."

While Arizona agreed with that plan, he still feels very worried for Max and hopes that he'll be okay when they find him, but what they have yet to know is that Max is on the other side of the island all alone. But when will they find each other is anyone's guess.

* * *

So what do you guys think might happen to Max? And how will Musaki and Arizona survive? Stick around for more!


	8. How to Survive

So...I left ya asking how will Musaki and Arizona survive? Well, I hope I made this pretty decent on how the first day of the deserted island would be.

* * *

Chapter 8: How to Survive

Later that day, Arizona and Musaki walk across the forest just to find Max somewhere on this island in hopes that he'll be safe and sound. Both of them called him out as loud as they could and there was still nothing. Arizona lets out a deep exhale of anxiety because he begins assuming the worst that could happen to a young kid; kidnapped, tortured, getting himself lost, hurt or even worse...death. The latter part is what will put Arizona in a state of emotional distress...if it's possible.

But he can't tell that to Musaki because he loves his tiger cousin too much to even imagine such things like that and it would put a rift in their friendship. And Arizona does not like putting in a rift on any relationship with anyone. He looks over towards parts of the ground and the bushes while Musaki searches the caves. The result; no Max.

It puts the young wolf in a terrified position and Musaki in a very worried position as well because both of them love Max so much and all they have to do is wish that he'll be okay. During that time, Arizona's stomach started growling and he could tell that he's getting hungry. He lets out a delirious sigh and then looks over at Musaki and somehow...his mind of hunger brings him in a wolf state, imagining him as a type of meat that he would consume in three seconds flat.

He slowly comes over to Musaki, dazed and hungry and his mouth started drooling as he got closer, assuming that Musaki is edible and that he would eat him straight off the bone. Musaki heard Arizona breathing heavily and when he slowly looked at him from behind, all he could see is his fangs coming in and he asked, "What is wrong with you?"

Eventually, Arizona sticks his tongue towards Musaki's arm and licks it and that seems to creep him out and he quickly slapped him in the face and shouted, "Snap out of it!"

Arizona quickly got himself back to reality and sees Musaki standing there and he completely felt confused and also embarassed that he licked Musaki and he said, "Sorry. It's just...I'm so freakin' hungry right now that I would eat a panda."

Musaki widened his eyebrows for a second after hearing that come out Arizona and he said, "Dude...I don't think pandas will be a good choice of food for ya. Besides, you'll be Po's weight in a week."

"I-I-I seriously don't know what came over me. Bad wolf instincts, I guess." Arizona added.

Musaki exhaled deeply and wanted to get this out of the way and he said, "Okay...I think it's best if we can actually find some food and then look for Max."

Arizona then asked him, "Are you hungry too?"

Both of them heard Musaki's stomach growling as well and he lets out a big sigh and said, "Yeah, pretty much."

They made their way towards the forest and Arizona said, "Sorry if I licked ya. I guess I didn't know what an actual panda would taste like."

"Don't even answer that question."

When they started looking for food, it was proven to be a challenge because there was barely anything they can find and it made Arizona easily frustrated to see that in every tree, bush or anything they can find, there's no food. He grunts in frustration and asked, "What's with this freakin' island? I mean, shouldn't there be like pieces of food somewhere?"

Just then, Musaki sees one tree that to his surprise...has only one blueberry in it and he sneaks over to the tree and slowly picks out a blueberry and plans to eat it, but when he turns around, he sees Arizona standing in front of him, caught with one blueberry on his paw and Musaki could sense that he was about to snatch it from him and Arizona growls at him, saying, "Fork over the blueberry."

"Dude, I saw it first! Get your own!" Musaki exclaimed.

Arizona grabbed him by the hand and planned to put it in his mouth, but Musaki yanked it away and he ended up biting his own hand, howling in pain. Musaki was set to eat it, but Arizona tripped him down to the ground and sets the blueberry down to the ground. Arizona quickly went over to retrieve it, but Musaki got on top of him, blocking him out of the way to capture the blueberry and both of them started fighting over the single fruit, determined to have the only source of food.

But suddenly, the berry rolls down to the ground and they chase it and possibly each other to get it first, while tripping each other out of the way and to their surprise...a little squirrel came in and got the piece of fruit, ate it and went back to the tree. Both of them appear to be dumbfounded by the squirrel getting the blueberry and they looked at each other for a second and both stomachs were growling together.

"This is gonna suck." Musaki said, groaning.

"We are never gonna get out of here...and Max is completely lost." Arizona said, in anger.

Arizona got so frustrated that he punched a tree and crumbled down to the ground in a state of anger and sorrow as to how they're gonna survive in this. Musaki couldn't bear to see him so broken and hopeless, so he walked over to him and he said, "Listen, we just need to calm down and think of a strategy as to how we'll get through this."

"How do you suggest we do that?"

Suddenly, there was a distant sound of thunder coming this way and as Musaki looked up, he could tell that it was gonna rain any moment and he said, "First we need to find a shelter...and fast."

Arizona nodded his head in agreement and both of them ran up to find a spot so that they can be protected by the rain and less that 2 minutes later, they saw one area where they saw a waterfall near it and Musaki looked at Arizona and said, "I think this will work."

They wasted no time building two huts, so they gathered some grass, bamboo sticks and vines to hold it all together and it only took them 45 minutes to make two separate huts and when they looked at it, they could tell that this is a perfect place to keep themselves sheltered from the rain or other storms that'll come their way.

Arizona takes a deep breath and he said, "Well, that's heck of a hut we built."

"Best part...we're like next door to each other, so we can see each other and it's near a waterfall, so that's good." Musaki added.

Both of them were curious to see what the water taste like, so they ran towards the ocean and got a handful of water and when they tasted it, it was lke nothing they ever tasted. Arizona sighed in content and said, "Fresh, clear water. I think we might be able to make it through."

"That's considering if we can actually find food." Musaki added.

Minutes later, Musaki puts around sticks and rocks in order to make a little fire to keep themselves warm at night, but just as Arizona came back to get the wood, another sound of thunder comes by and they automatically figured that it was gonna rain and with that, Arizona and Musaki help set the wood down to Arizona's hut so when it'll stop, they will be clear to make fire.

But what they didn't know is that there was actually a roof underneath their huts to keep the rain from hitting them and it only took them a few minutes to actually figure it out for themselves.

During this time, Arizona looks over at the window, watching the rain fall down and all he could think about was Max and how frightened the little tiger cub must be...out there all alone in the rain, knowing fully intact that he's afraid of thunderstorms. It made Arizona feel really sad and helpless knowing that he wished that it would be him all alone instead of Max.

Just then, Musaki comes inside of Arizona's hut and he sees him standing there, looking at the window. He comes over to him and he said, "Thinking about Max?"

"Yeah. Why do I have a feeling that I'll never see him again?" asked Arizona, in a worried tone.

"Hey, we'll find him. We can't always assume the worst when something bad might happen. I'm pretty sure that wherever he is, he's probably wondering where we are too." Musaki added.

Arizona lowered his head down, still feeling guilty about yelling at him back on the boat and Musaki places his paw on his shoulder and said, "Look, it was unfortunate that Max's feelings was hurt, but we all mistakes too."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't have yelled at him, none of this wouldn't have happened. I treated your cousin so badly that day and I...I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself after that."

"Hey, he's my cuz and he's your tiger brother. You guys can still repair the damage and go back to being friends." Musaki added.

"I hope you're right."

Musaki patted his shoulder and said, "We might as well get some rest if we wanna look for him in the morning."

"How can I sleep knowing that Max is out there? He's probably cold, hungry, scared, lost and alone...he's a little cub in a big strange place." Arizona asked.

Musaki couldn't argue with that and he said, "Yeah. I can't imagine what Max is going through right now."

Meanwhile on the other side of the island, Max walked through the forest, trying to find some shelter from the rain, but with the sights of lightning and sounds of thunder popping in, he yowled in ultimate panic and hid under the bushes, while shaking in fear. He slowly walks out with a few whimpers and ends up finding a little cave to sleep in. As soon as he steps inside, he lays himself down to sleep and hears multiple sounds of thunder surrounding him, making Max even more terrified.

"Why won't this storm stop?" Max asked, fearfully.

He looks over at his necklace and when he opened it, he sees a picture of himself along with Arizona and Musaki, just goofing around and laughing and it made Max really sad that he might never see them again and a few tears stream out of his face and he lays himself down to sleep and he whispered, "Good night, Arizona. Good night, Musaki."

Max was totally unaware that a pair of dark brown eyes were staring at him a quarter of a mile from the cave and into the bushes, almost as if he's gonna be abducted soon.

*Back at the campsite*

Arizona looks up at the sky, getting really misty-eyed and whispered, "Good night, Max."

Musaki looks up at the roof of his hut, thinking about Max as well and he said, "Good night, cuz."

* * *

So who is this stranger coming to get Max? Well, on the next chapter...you will see how I made it suspenseful. How was I doing with that genre, by the way?


	9. Followed and Ambushed

And this is where the suspense kicks in!

* * *

Chapter 9: Followed and Ambushed

The next day comes and Max slowly opened his eyes, letting out a yawn and as he got himself on all fours, he stretched himself up and then stood up and stepped out of the cave, trying to find something to eat because there's barely anything on this island he can find easily. In Max's eyes, he could tell that he's definitely lost and alone in a strange place he's not familiar with. That sort of thing really scares him to the fullest intact that something bad might happen.

As he was walking, he hears his own stomach growling loudly and Max was completely hungry for something he can find. As he walked towards the forest, he seeks a little berry bush right in front of him and he was anticipating for something to eat and he quickly ran towards the bush and picked out whatever was left and there were only five pieces of little raspberries. As he took each of them, he gobbled them up as if it was the last meal he ever had in a long time.

He was completely unaware that the same person with dark brown eyes is watching Max's every move and he lets out a sinister chuckle and whispered, "We're coming for ya, kid."

After this, Max was about to find Arizona and Musaki and hope that they're somewhere in the forest and he starts walking his way...all while being followed by some random stranger that Max isn't even noticing.

Just then, Max heard a twig snapping sound and he quickly stopped short, looking straight behind as if there was someone following him and he didn't know whether if someone was looking for him or if someone was coming for him. He was sure that he heard something, but it was probably just his imagination, so he continued walking his way.

As he continues his way, he heard some footsteps coming behind him and he stopped again and turns around to see who's following him.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Max asked, nervously.

It was getting a lot weirder and weirder and even scarier because Max didn't know who made that noise or who was following him. It brought him with a huge load of worry and anxiety that someone might come for him and he slowly started walking again and another noise comes back again and Max went from nervous to terrified in a split second.

"Arizona? Musaki? Is that you guys?" asked Max.

He was hoping that someone's playing a trick on him or if it's either Musaki and Arizona surprising him because things are starting to get really tense now. He backed away slowly and he ran right into a tree and Max slid all the way down to the ground and as he sat there, he could hear someone making heavy breaths coming in and it made the young cub very frightened.

Just then, he started running as fast as he can to keep himself safe, but he seeks one part of the stranger in one of the trees, but it's all dark and hidden that he couldn't tell who is there. It scared him really quickly and just kept on running and running until he slipped onto a tree branch and fell down on the ground. He groans softly as he got himself up, but was surrounded by a number of leopards and Alpha wolves holding arrows, hammers and knives waiting to strike at Max.

Max looked around and saw them all around him, on top of the trees all chanting and shouting directly at him. Then, one of them stood in front of Max and he sees the young cub shaking and he immediately punches him in the face and shoves him down hard and throws him towards the tree. All of the leopards and wolves cheered for that one member and he said, "Our master is waiting for you."

Max groans weakly and he feels every part of him that's broken and just then, to Max's fright and to the other's anticipation of sheer delight, in comes the leader of the entire clan...a tall, leopard with a scarred face walked up to Max and he said, "Are you prepared to die?"

* * *

Am I good in the suspense category or what? Who was that dark figure? You'll find the answer next chapter!


	10. Terrifying Discovery

Well, I left ya hanging and here it is!

* * *

Chapter 10: Terrifying Discovery

Max looks up at the leopard and the scarred, magled face freaked him out more than anything and he asked, "What!"

The leader of the clan growls at Max and all Max could do is just stand away from him and the leopard comes to him and he said, "I've been watching you last night and I figured that a young cub like you shouldn't have walked all alone in this island."

Max was very frightened and also very scared that someone would come out and hurt him and that leopard would do just that and he said, "Please...I don't want to die."

The leopard looks at Max and he said, "Do you know what we do to young little cubs that step into our island?"

Max was confused by that one and he asked, "Your island?"

"Apparently, you did not realize that you have stepped into the most dangerous part of this half of the island...where I, Zai-Shin...and my loyal subjects to teach them a lesson about what might happen if one chooses to say...trespass. Especially those younger as you are."

It made the young tiger cub started shaking nervously and he asked, "Wh-What are you gonna...d-d-d-do to me?"

"Our master's gonna have you for lunch!" one Alpha wolf shouted.

All of the others cheered in agreement and the last thing Max would want is to be eaten and killed and he grew shocked and frightened that someone would actually do that and as he was about to get out, four Alpha wolves blocked his way and one even picked him up and puts his knife directlytowards his neck and he asked Zai-Shin, "Should we cut his head off, master?"

"Boshu! We don't resort to this right away! Not unless I say so!" Zai-Shin shouted.

Max tried to break free from Boshu's grip and wanted to get away, but Boshu smacked him upside the head and he said, "Listen, kid! We do whatever we want to do and we will do whatever we please to do! So you're gonna find yourself in your deathbed if you ever escape!"

"Let me go! Please!" Max screamed.

"Shut up!" another Alpha wolf spat out.

Zai-Shin walks over to Max and he said, "My army will make sure that you do not escape and when someone will come and save you...they'll find themselves underwater and dead."

They then throw Max down to the ground and Zai-Shin walks towards the cub and he grabs ahold on his hammer and he said, "And this is to remind you that you have stepped towards the wrong part of the island."

"No, please! Just leave me alone!" Max screamed in terror.

But suddenly...

WHAM!

Meanwhile, at the campsite, Arizona sensed something might be wrong and his instincts proved right and he knows that it had something to do with his little buddy.

"Max..."

Musaki comes into Arizona's hut and he sees Arizona looking very scared and had this frozen look on his face and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I have a feeling that Max is in danger. I know it."

* * *

What happened to Max? The answer...will be revealed next!


	11. An Unexpected Friend

Even during Max's time of danger, there's someone that vows to keep him safe from the other dangerous guys.

* * *

Chapter 11: An Unexpected Friend

Max groans sharply and opened his eyes slowly and he finds himself somewhere he's never been before and as he looked around, he sees himself in a holding pen and when he got himself up, he looks at himself and sees a few cuts and scars on his face and parts of his body and realized that Zai-Shin messed up him up really bad and he walks near the door and he sees that he's locked up in that pen and he knows for a fact that this was definitely a scary place for him to be in. Max took a shaky breath and feels a tremendous amount of fear and anxiety that he's trapped with those monsters.

"Where am I? Can someone let me out of here?" Max asked, fearfully.

He held the bars and started shaking it loudly enough for everyone else to hear and suddenly, there was an ax near the door and it was one of the leopard soldiers growling at Max, which made the young tiger cub trip and fall down in fright and back away slowly. The leopard soldier stares at Max as he got to his face and said, "One more sound and I will snap off your legs."

"I'm not supposed to be here! I need to find my family!" Max pleaded.

The leopard sticks a knife out and he said, "Escape from this place...and I guarantee you that you won't live to see your own family again."

The soldier kept staring at Max and he could care less that he was afraid as long as Zai-Shin would want him to stay there until they kill him of 'trespassing.' Max lowers his head down and just sat down on the other side of the cell, facing away from everyone and everything while the solider just walks away without even a care along with the rest of them.

Meanwhile, Max curls himself up and just buried his face again and started crying. He was definitely scared and alone and the fact that he was in a position where someone wants to harm him for walking in the island is definitely frightening. He felt like he was never gonna see his cousin and his wolf brother again and that's something he doesn't know how he'll deal with.

Hours went by and suddenly, Max hears someone opening the door and he turns around to see a dark shadow figure coming out of nowhere and he was definitely scared that he might hurt him or worse, but when he was brought into the light, in shows a grey wolf, between his late 20's or early 30's, wearing only ragged torn clothes and when he looked at Max, he got down on his level and patted his shoulder, which made Max flinch a little.

"Hey...it's all right, little fellow. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Max slowly looked up at him and after hearing his voice, he wasn't sure if he was to hurt him or protect him and he asked, "Y-You're not?"

The grey wolf replied, calmly, "I never would. Not to someone who's younger like you."

Soon enough, he brought in a bowl of food for Max and when he got closer to it, he smelled it for a second to see if it's edible enough or if it's good or not and when he looked at the grey wolf, he nodded his head slowly and whispered, "Try it."

It's been a long time since Max had eaten anything and he picks it up and stuffs it into his mouth and when he ate it, his taste buds were completely relieved and Max said, "This is really good."

The grey wolf took one look at Max and lets out a smile and when he patted him, it made Max feel a little nervous at first, but he could see that he's here to help him instead of hurting him and he said, "My name's Shinoda. What's yours, kid?"

"I'm Max."

Shinoda nodded his head a little and he said, "How'd you end up in the island anyway?"

Max wasn't sure if he was willing to open up to a total stranger just yet and he said, "Got lost at sea and I was...separated from my family. I just don't know where I am or how I'm gonna find them."

Shinoda blinked his eyes a few times and he couldn't imagine what he might go through and he immediately became sympathetic towards the young cub and Max looks up at him and asked, "Why are you helping me?"

"I saw you get taken in by these guys and I knew in my conscience that a little guy like you shouldn't be out here all alone and before Zai-Shin planned to abduct you, I actually saw you walking by the island by yourself and...I don't know. How could I not help you? I know it's against their code to have sympathy for the strangers, but when it involves kids...my heart bleeds for them." Shinoda explained.

Max blinked a few times and he could see something in Shinoda's eyes and he said, "All I wanna do is get out of here and find my friends."

Shinoda totally expressed great concern for Max and nodded his head in agreement and then he gets himself up and said, "Enjoy your fish, kid."

"Thank you."

"SHINODA!"

Shinoda's P.O.V.

I knew that it would be Zai-Shin calling me because I can hear that voice from a mile away. It's bad enough that I've been in servant for years now but now it's starting to get a little irritating. I took one last look at Max and as I saw him eating my fish, my heart completely went out to him and I want to help him get back to his family...although I have a feeling that they might be looking for him too. But in know in my intellect that I would get him out of that place because it's really dangerous and dreadful for a place like this.

I walked out of there and decided what the big fuss is all about and as I faced Zai, I totally wished that I just walk away and keep Max company. I slowly walked up to him and I said, "You called, master?"

Zai-Shin gave me one of his death glares as he got into my face and I could tell that this is one of his serious moods and he said, "Why didn't you respond back after I called your name?"

"Sorry, master. I did hear you call me." I quickly replied.

Zai-Shin lets out a growl and told me, "My men will be ready to brutalize that little hairball trespasser for stepping into our turf. I want you to keep a close eye on the runt and make sure that he does not escape...because if he does..."

Zai Shin pulls out his sword and I knew exactly what that meant when he pulled it out...that he will really kill Max. My heart felt like it was gonna beat out of my chest and leave me stranded there to know that he's gonna kill a little cub. I swallowed hard and stared at Zai-Shin and I just wanted to get this out of the way so I can help him escape as soon as possible and I responded with a lie, "Yes, master. Of course."

"I think we understand each other." Zai-Shin said, with a smirk before he walks off.

In my head, I'm thinking 'no way in hell's chance would we be on the same damn page with this bastard.' And I also know in my heart that I need to do whatever I can to help Max get out, even if it means risking my life and bring him back to safety. As I walked past his cell, I could see him sleeping there and when I looked at him, he reminds me of my own son...the way he used to be when I would hold him in my arms and place him in his bed.

It just brought tears to my eyes when I see someone like him that's gonna suffer the same way my son did years ago. I let out a heavy sigh as I made my way back to my chambers and turned myself in for the night. As I look in the ceiling, I began thinking about my family and how they're doing while being held hostage by Zai-Shin's bonus army. This is not gonna be an easy task for me, but eventually, I know I'm gonna have to do the right thing.

*Back at the campsite*

Musaki's P.O.V.

I was falling asleep in my hut and all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, I was awakened by a howling sound out of freakin' nowhere and as I got up, I asked, "Who was that?"

So as I stepped outside, I could hear it from somewhere above this island and I walked towards the top of the waterfall and as I drew near it, I already knew that it's coming from Arizona. I quietly walked over to where he was and I heard him howl towards the half moon. But it wasn't a normal howl he would make...it was one that's covered with sadness, sorrow, anguish and fear all mixed into one.

I couldn't see his face but I can tell that he might be in tears because he misses Max so deeply and I couldn't blame him. I do worry for my little tiger cousin too, just as much as he would. I heard Arizona's quivering breaths each time he would pause and I knew from there that he might've been crying.

Arizona's P.O.V.

I howled at the stars without so much care because I'm way too guilty to care anyway except for when it comes to Max. There was no doubt that he's always on my mind every single day and I miss him so deeply and I was hoping that he would hear me from a mile away.

When I stopped, I turned around and here was Musaki sitting there and I didn't expect to have one audience to hear my sorrow, but I'm actually glad he did because he understood how much I worry about Max a lot. When he saw my streaks of tears on my face, I had a gut feeling that he knew that I was crying for him.

I cleared my throat and asked, "How much did you actually hear?"

Musaki stared at me deeply and he replied, "All of it...even after I woke up."

I didn't realize that my howling woke Musaki up in the first place and I was sorta embarassed by that and I said, "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's cool. I understand your pain." Musaki replied.

I tilted my head to the side and I let out a deep sigh and asked Musaki, "Are you mad at me for yelling at Max for no reason?"

"Not really. But I was kinda confused. What I want to know is my didn't you stop yourself before you blew up at him?" asked Musaki.

That question made a lot of sense to me and unfortunately, I wasn't thinking clearly back then after being harassed by these dumb Alpha wolves and I replied, "I asked myself that same question after that situation. This whole thing is my fault. If I hadn't have suggested on this boat trip, we wouldn't even be here."

Musaki looked at me as if he disagreed with what I just said and he told me, "It's not your fault. Sometimes bad things happen to us for a reason and we don't know why it happens, but it's never anyone's fault."

I still feel like it is my fault for screwing up something even worse...failing Max. I was responsible for making sure he's safe and sound and I totally blew it. I looked at Musaki and said, "Or maybe I'm failure for being a good big brother."

"Don't say you're a failure. You made a mistake that you regret. We all do, but this is one mistake you have to fix. That way, you guys can make amends and go back to being friends. And soon, all three of us will get out of this island and head back home." Musaki said.

I nodded my head in agreement and it actually brightened me up a little bit and I told him, "If I ever see Max again, the first thing I would do is just...hug him, tell that everything's okay and that I love him and that I'm really sorry."

Musaki nodded his head and he said, "It's a good start. I'm gonna check on the fire and then hit the sack. We need to find food and then look for Max in the morning."

He gets up and walks back to his hut and as I stood up, I looked up at the sky, hoping that I can find my little buddy soon and I whispered, "Don't worry, Max. We're coming for you, little buddy. Just hang on."

* * *

How'd I do on the P.O.V's of the characters? Come back for more now, ya'll hear?


	12. Wolf Instincts

Musaki first sees Arizona's wolf duties for the first time. Surprising, ain't it?

* * *

Chapter 12: Wolf Instincts

Early in the morning at the campsite, Musaki was awaken by beams of sunlight at his face and let out a soft groan as he got himself up, rubbed his eyes and lets out a small yawn before heading out of the hut and when he got outside, he walked across Arizona's hut to wake him up, but when he saw the door half-open, he already figured that he was already up. Suddenly, he hears some splashing coming in and he wanted to check and see where it came from.

He walks over to the waterfall and when he got there, he saw Arizona standing underneath the waterfall, his entire grey fur all soaked up and he wasn't sure what he was doing there and he said, "Morning, Arizona."

Arizona looks up and he steps out of the waterfall and saw Musaki standing there and that took him by surprise that he was there and he said, "What are you doing here?"

"Your door was half-open. Thought you might've gone to find Max without me." Musaki answered.

Arizona sighed in amusement at that as he soaked up his spiky hair and said, "Nah, I'm just showering up before we can actually look for him."

Suddenly, Musaki had his answer and he slowly turned away from him and covered his eyes as if he intruded on him by accident and he said, "Sorry, Zona. I had no idea that you were bathing under the waterfall."

"It's cool. You didn't know. Besides, the rush of the water calms me as well." Arizona stated.

Musaki nodded his head as he was about to head back and he said, "Well...I'll just wait until you're finished so that way we can find some breakfast before we look for my cuz."

Arizona nodded his head in understanding and as he made his way back under the waterfall to finish bathing, there was still no doubt in his mind that Max could be anywhere, but he hopes that he'll be okay.

10 minutes had gone by and Musaki walked his way to the hut after finding a few pieces of fruit in one side of the forest and as he was sitting near there, he sees Arizona walking with a basket full of fish on his hand and Musaki was definitely surprised at the number of fish that he caught and as the grey wolf sat down, Musaki said, "Dude, you've been fishing."

"Yep. Didn't realize that this waterfall had fish under the ocean until I saw some swimming around after I finished bathing. So I decided to catch some as breakfast." Arizona replied.

"I actually found some fruit on the forest. It's kinda weird on how an island like this, food can be scarce." Musaki added.

"Well...at least today started off good." Arizona said, as he began eating.

Musaki peeled off some pieces of grapefruit and began eating some and he had no idea that Arizona was eating a lot of fish and when Arizona noticed that he was staring at him, he swallowed and asked, "Did you want some fish?"

"Nah, I'm good. It's just that...I never knew you actually ate fish before." Musaki stated.

Arizona lets out a deep exhale and he replied, "Well, there's a lot of things about me that you don't really know. A wolf like me eats meat and...I'm really not the person that would just eat anyone or anything. Most wolves from Dai Ling's army would usually stalk other innocent prey and consume their flesh until there's nothing left but bones."

Musaki could not imagine seeing that position come about in his head and he said, "That's horrible."

"Yeah. But what are you gonna do? I'm more of a fish guy only." Arizona admits.

Musaki did not realize that there really was a lot of things that he didn't know about Arizona that well even though they've known each other for a year now and he asked, "When do you turn 18?"

Arizona scratched the back of his head and replied, "Mid-August, around the 16th or 17th."

"Bet being an adult is gonna be scary, huh?"

Arizona has grown a lot since coming the Jade Palace for a year after being rescued by Musaki from Dai Ling and it's like he's grown a lot more mature than anything and he wasn't sure how being an adult would be and he paused himself in his thoughts and he replied, "I don't know. But enough about me, Musaki. Let's just concentrate on looking for Max."

Musaki agreed with changing the subject very quickly and he said, "Okay. How do we find my cuz?"

Later on, Arizona and Musaki began walking through parts of the forest and Arizona decided that he should mark a trail in case they find their way back and he sniffing out several trees around the forest and when he found one, he took off his pants, got down on all fours, lifted up one leg near the base of the tree and marked his territory. After nearly 2 minutes, he puts his pants back on and sees Musaki standing in front of him and he said, "Bathroom break or something?"

"I'm marking a territory. All wolves can find their spots they marked just by their own urine so it's easier for anyone to smell their own scent in order to find their way back or to know that we were here." Arizona explained.

"So...by peeing on this tree is where we are right now?" asked Musaki.

"Yep. Just so we don't get lost when we find our way back. Also, if Max finds us and smells my scent here, he knows it's me." Arizona added.

Musaki nodded his head and replied, "Uh-huh. I think I see your point."

Arizona then went ahead and clawed some marks on some trees and kept going and Musaki was greatly surprised by how he managed to do that and he asked, "Hey, Zona. Have you done this before?"

"Most times. But that's pretty much wolves' instincts. So it's pretty common for a wolf like me to mark their own territories." Arizona added.

"Man, there really is a lot of things about you that I don't know about." Musaki added, in awe.

Arizona turned to him for a while and he said, "Yeah, well don't get used to it. The sooner we find Max, the better chance we have to get out of here. I just hope that Max isn't hurt by someone or something because if something happened to him, I don't know what I'd do."

"Neither do I." Musaki added.

Just then, Arizona's muzzle picked up a further scent and when he smelled it, he could sense it from 5 miles away and when Musaki went behind him, Arizona's sense of smell got closer and closer until it reached a small cave nearby and when he crawled inside, he resumed sniffing until he picks up something further from him and it was a little claw mark on the wall.

"What is it?" asked Musaki.

Arizona's eyes widened up and suddenly, his face shifted from curious to fear in a split second as he realized that the scent was very familiar to him and immediately knew whose scent it was.

"Max." Arizona replied, in a worried voice.

* * *

Suspenseful enough for ya? We check on Max in the next chapter!


	13. Fear Exposed

We get to see both Shinoda and Max's fear of staying longer in that prison, but Shinoda soothes him a little bit.

* * *

Chapter 13: Fear Exposed

Back at the hidden cave, Max was asleep on the ground of his cell and he got awoken by some loud, howling Alpha wolves and they started laughing and pointing at him relentlessly and Max felt completely hurt and angry by the fact that they would do that to him and he said, "Stop it!"

"Stop it!" one Alpha dog mocked, then howls with laughter.

Max didn't know how to deal with this and he felt a mixture of anger and sadness, all flowing inside of him as if he was about to cry again but instead, he shook the metal bars as hard as he could, while he was screaming loudly at their faces and all the Alpha's could do is just mock him and taunt him and suddenly, they stopped when Shinoda made his way out and when Shinoda heard about this, he did not take it very lightly.

He looked up at Max and then he quickly glared at the other Alpha's and he said, "Don't you guys have anything else better to do?"

"Rather than be caught in the same hallway as you, Omega?" asked one Alpha.

Shinoda growls lowly at them and then he said, "Lay off the cub."

Another Alpha got into his face with a snarl and he asked, "Why should we? You think we care about this little runt with fur?"

Shinoda shoved him down and he gets himself up and said, "I'm telling you Alpha's to leave him alone. Shouldn't you take care of the master's plot?"

The Alpha's immediately began to disperse, but not before glaring at Shinoda while walking away and Shinoda didn't really care that much for the Alpha's and after they left, he walked over to Max's cell and he asked, "You all right, kid?"

Max turned to Shinoda and he couldn't believe that he would actually defend him in front of those Alpha wolves and he nodded his head and asked, "Why did you stick up for me?"

Shinoda sighed heavily at this and he entered inside the cell with him and sat down on the ground with him and he said, "This may be a little difficult for you to understand this, but I'm the exact opposite of those people whom I work with. See, unlike them...I'm an Omega."

Max stared at him with a confused look in his face and he asked, "What's an Omega?"

"It's a type of wolf that separates themselves from other members of a pack. Basically, most of us Omegas have grey fur while the Alpha's have brown or white fur. Alpha's are the masters of their domain and that they're like smarter and better than the Omegas while the rest of us are lone wolves. I'm the only grey wolf in a sea of Alpha's and leopards...most of which are vicious and stupid." Shinoda explained.

"There's one thing I don't understand. How come you're working with them?" asked Max.

"Honestly, I hated them. Never wanted anything to do with them...until Zai-Shin threatened to murder my family if I was to do whatever he says. Of course, I would do anything for my family and to keep them safe from harm, so I've been stuck here for like 4 years straight...which are the most grueling years of my life, coping with immature Alpha wolves, fierce leopards and my deranged assassin of a leader, Zai-Shin. I would hope one day I would fight with Zai and then set my family free so we can be together again." Shinoda answered.

Max looked into Shinoda's eyes and he could see that he doesn't want to be in this place as much as Max and he said, "You remind me of my wolf brother, Arizona."

Shinoda was surprised to hear that comparison come out of Max and he asked, "I do?"

"I was scared of wolves because I thought they would hurt me and my mom left me behind with them when I was five and that fear is still around...except for Arizona. All I wanna do is get out of here so I can find him and my cousin." Max said.

Shinoda's heart hurts for Max and he lifted his chin up and he looked into Max's eyes and said, "You remind me of my son, Xi. He has eyes like that, only they're much bigger and wider."

Max blinked a few times and he said, "Do you miss your family?"

The older wolf stared at him and he replied with a simple slow nod and he lets out a heavy exhale as if that question struck into Shinoda's heart and he replied, "Every day. Especially my son, Xi."

"What happened to him?"

Shinoda blinked a few times and after hearing that question, his eyes got really misty-eyed and he replied, in a broken voice, "He's...dead. The Alpha wolves killed him...in front of my own eyes."

Max felt sympathy to Shinoda and he walks over to him and he puts his hand on his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry that you lost your son."

"I felt very angry for a long time with the fact that those Alpha's killed my son and it was the worst thing that a father has to go through. That's why I want to help you escape from this place so you won't have to suffer the same fate my son was in." Shinoda said, in between tears.

It lightened up Max for a second to realize that Shinoda's gonna help him get back to his family and he asked, "You are?"

"I promise you that I'll do everything I can to get you back to your family...even if it means that I'll have to die." Shinoda added.

"Pinky promise?" asked Max.

Max stuck out his pinky finger and without hesitation, Shinoda grabs ahold of Max's pinky with his and shook it. He looks at Max and said, "You're a good kid. That's why I'm keeping you safe from Zai-Shin and the others before they kill you."

Shinoda gets himself up and not long after, he reaches into his satchel and gives him a bowl full of fruit and Max looks up and asked, "You're giving me this?"

"I figured you might need it more than I do. Zai told me to never give any food to the trespassers except for day old rice and sheep guts, so I figured a little guy like you would need some fruit." Shinoda stated.

"Thanks."

Shinoda patted his head, in which Max lets out a small laugh and then he left the room, closing the door and he said, "I'll check on you later when the Alpha's or Zai-Shin isn't around."

Shinoda walks off and he sees Max eating the fruit out of the bowl and all Shinoda could do is crack a little smile and think to himself, 'Why would anyone want to harm an innocent little tiger cub? I know I gotta take him out of here.'

* * *

And with good reason. Why? You'll find out on the next chapter!


	14. Shocking Revelations

We left you where chapter 13 left off. And Shinoda hears something very horrible and...well, you'll see.

* * *

Chapter 14: Shocking Revelations

As Shinoda walked his way towards the hall, he walked past some leopards and both of them gave him a disgusted glare in their faces to which Shinoda didn't seem to care about too much and just kept on walking and as he was about to go up to Zai-Shin's chambers, he overheard some loud conversations about what they're gonna do with Max.

"So, boss...how do you want to start off with the plan to kill the little pipsqueak?" asked one leopard.

Zai-Shin scratched his head in thought and after a few minutes, he came up with an idea that's gruesome and vile and said, "First, we convince the brat that we've got a surprise for him and then Shinoda will bring him down there, head over to my chambers completely blindfolded and when he steps out of there, you leopards will slam the door, lock him and we tell him to take off his blindfold and surprise him. That's when we attack him, tie him up and chop his entire head off and then we slice off his entire body, eat them up and the only thing that's left of him are his bones."

Shinoda gasped in horror when he overheard the entire plan to eat Max and the fact that he's gonna be brought into this made him realize that now is the perfect time to get him out of the cavern mountains before they get ahold of Max.

"Yeah, but why bring Shinoda into this? He's not like the rest of us, master." one male Alpha wolf soldier asked.

Zai-Shin looks up at one of them and said, "Chien-Mo, must you ask any stupid questions? Yes, he is an Omega, but he's my personal servant as well and I know of his friendship and trust with the trespasser. At first, I would've confronted him myself, but then...opportunity knocks on my door that he can use that friendship to bring the little terror into my evil plot, thus taking advantage of that and betray him and bring him down to his consequental death."

That made Shinoda really disgusted to let Zai-Shin talk him into doing something like that and he whispered, "No...no. That is not happening."

Boshu then stood up and asked, "Do we chop off his head before or after we slice him?"

The others looked at him in a state of annoyance and embarassment after hearing Boshu's answer and Zai-Shin said, "Before, you idiot! We do it when I say we'll slice his head off before we chop off the rest of him!"

Boshu then sits down on his chair and he replied, "I knew that."

One Alpha member pokes him and then slaps him in the face, letting Boshu howl out in pain and then he growled at one of them, like he's ready to attack and then Zai throws his sword to the wall in order to break up this fight. Zai then sits down, sighs exasperatedly and said, "As I was saying...the plan will set into place and the tiger cub will pay for absolute trespassing and treason."

"Master, if I may imply...he might not know what treason is." one leopard said.

"I'm well aware of that. Now...after we kill the cub, we burn Shinoda to death for completely trusting this brat. That is treason enough for me...that and because all he cares about is his stupid family! So after I kill him, his entire family gets slaughtered too...like I did with his rotten little offspring." Zai-Shin said, with an evil chuckle.

"Did you not recall that we helped too?" another Alpha wolf asked.

"Yeah, we were gonna kill him for you. I mean...that kid means nothing to Shinoda, anyway." Boshu exclaimed.

"Well, we can all share the credit!" Zai-Shin shouted.

Suddenly, Shinoda couldn not believe what he was hearing...not only was he gonna get burned and his family was gonna be killed by Zai but that he was the one that killed his son, Xi and all of the Alpha's were also involved in it. He nodded his head in disbelief and felt like he was completely betrayed and lied to, wasted all those 4 years with him being his servant when he could've fought back.

"I don't freakin' believe this." Shinoda whispered, in anger.

Just then, one Alpha wolf chimed in quickly and said, "What do we do if the little runt escapes from our view?"

Zai-Shin felt like he was waiting for that question and then, he sticks out his sword and tells him, "All of you take care of it. Because you know what happens when one of our trespassers escape. They get the full fatal penalty. I don't give a damn if he's seven, six or even two and I also don't care if you claw him, stab him, burn him or whatever the hell you want to do. JUST KILL THE DAMN BRAT!"

"And his rescuers too?" asked another leopard.

Zai-Shin lets out an evil smirk on his face and he said, "I'll take care of them personally. We strike early tomorrow morning."

Shinoda definitely had heard enough of all of this and as soon as he ran out of the doors of the council room, he realizes that the time is definitely now. He panted heavily and whispered, "I gotta warn Max."

* * *

Max's reaction to the warning is coming up!


	15. Warning Alert

Max receives the disturbing news...

* * *

Chapter 15: Warning Alert

A few minutes later, Shinoda frantically ran towards the cells and when he reaches Max, he grabbed ahold onto the iron bars and Max looked at him like something must be wrong and he asked, "Shinoda, are you okay?"

Shinoda looks up at Max and he shook his head refraining it as a 'no' and he said, "Max, we have got to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Wh-what do you mean?" asked Max.

"I...I just found out that Zai-Shin and his army... are gonna kill you tomorrow." Shinoda answered.

When Max heard this, he dropped to the ground to his knees feeling completely scared and very fearful that this was gonna actually happen and Shinoda could tell that Max is definitely afraid of dying, so he unlocked the door and as he got down to his level, he sees streaks of tears coming out of his eyes and he picks him up for a hug while Max was crying in Shinoda's shoulders, soaking up his uniform.

"I don't wanna die!" Max sobbed.

Shinoda patted him softly on his head and he said, "It's okay. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Nor would I let anything happen to your friends...if they come rescue ya."

Max looks up at Shinoda, his eyes still filled with tears and he asked, "You're not gonna kill me too?"

That one question definitely shattered Shinoda's heart and he knew that Zai-Shin would involve him in it and he said, "I would never. Zai-Shin wanted to bring me into this, but I know in my heart that I will not kill you, no matter what he says. I will not let anyone or anything happen to you."

Max held onto him for a while and it brought Shinoda to tears very quickly and as the first tear rolled out of his eyes, he began thinking to himself, 'Screw you, Zai-Shin. I will not be your little toy soldier anymore.'

He looks up at Max and he said, "We leave first thing in the morning."

Shinoda quickly leaves the room and closes the door all while taking one last look at Max, his hazel-brown eyes still shedding tears and Max sticks his paw out to him and Shinoda did the same as well, to show how much they'll need each other to get through this plan.

When they let go, Shinoda blinks a couple of times and he walks away, overwhelmed with a huge wave of emotion crashing through him and when he was heading outside to the top of the mountains, he could sense two people walking closer to the island and what met his eyes were surprising.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Arizona and Musaki continued on walking through this part of the island and when they saw the mountain, they had a sense that it was gonna be a rough and dangerous part of the island and Musaki looked up at Arizona and asked, "Scary place, huh?"

Arizona nodded his head quickly and he said, "Very. But if that's where Max is, we have to find him."

"Way ahead of ya. Let's find a spot to crash where hopefully no one can see us." Musaki said.

Arizona agreed with that and he went with Musaki as well as they left the place and headed towards a small cave, one step further away from the cavern mountains to get themselves rested up before they begin the search.

As Arizona laid down, he turns to Musaki and he said, "What if we never find him?"

Musaki did not want to get this instilled in his head and he said, "Dude, I'm worried about Max as much as you are. We will find my tiger cuz. The last thing I would want is to have a vivid imagination of someone killing Maxie or at least a nightmare of it."

Arizona felt like he shouldn't have asked that question and he said, "Sorry."

The grey wolf laid down flat on his back and he looked up at the ceiling and he whispered, "Max...I'm sorry I failed you as a big brother."

He closed his eyes and drifted himself off to sleep and both of them were anxiously waiting for what tomorrow would bring...but they were both unaware that Shinoda saw Max's rescuers and once he found out who they were, he silently left and made his way back to the mountains, all dreading of what's gonna be played out tomorrow.

* * *

Forgive me if I haven't put in enough Musaki and Arizona in the previous chapters. Hope this makes up for it!


	16. Arizona's Nightmare

Arizona is still feeling a ton of guilt for what he said to Max and a nightmare of his shows what happens if it's too late.

* * *

Chapter 16: Arizona's Nightmare

In the middle of the night in the cave, Arizona started tossing and turning, while moaning and muttering in his sleep and there was a certain possibility that he can't stop thinking about Max and what might happen to him if they never found him in time and it might've been too late.

"Max...please...please leave him alone..." Arizona moaned.

* * *

_Nightmare_

_Arizona kept running through parts of the island, just desperately trying to find Max and he began panting heavily and not long after, he sees himself being surrounded by random monsters coming over to stop Arizona and one of them said, "You'll never find Max!"_

_Arizona growls loudly and punched him in the nose and continued on running until he can find Max and suddenly...he seeks something really, really disturbing...his worst fear coming true._

_He sees Max tied up in a tree and he slowly walks over to him and he said, "Max...I'm here."_

_Max looks up at Arizona and he slowly turned away from his wolf brother and said, "Why are you here?"_

_"I'm here to save you. And I'm sorry for all the things I said back on the boat. I was just mad." Arizona pleaded._

_Max snarled at him for a second and it made Arizona flinch to realize that Max was growling at him and he said, "I don't forgive you. I guess you didn't really want a tiger as a brother all along, did ya?"_

_Arizona was shocked to hear this coming out of Max and he knew that it was getting harder than he thought and he said, "Max, please...don't do this to me. I can't imagine what my life would be without you as my brother. I do want you as my brother."_

_"It's too late for your apologies. You said it yourself...you just wanna be alone and you wouldn't hang around someone like me." Max added._

_Arizona's eyes began to fill with tears as those words came back to haunt him and he got down on his knees and said, "Max, I'm sorry! I didn't mean everything I said!"_

_Just then, a certain someone comes over holding a torch and to Arizona's shock, it was a deranged leopard coming in to set Max on fire and as he landed it on the tree, Arizona watches as his only tiger brother gets engulfed with flames and Max looks at him and said, "Goodbye...wolf."_

_"No...no...no..." Arizona said, backing away as he began to break down crying._

_And when he was all burned, there was nothing but ashes burned to the ground and Arizona got to his knees again and began sobbing hysterically seeing someone close to him die in front of him and he knew that he had failed being a good big brother to him._

_"NOOOOOOOO! I'M SORRY, MAX! I'M SO SORRY!" Arizona screamed at the top of his lungs._

_That voice echoed as he kept crying and suddenly...darkness surrounded the young wolf with voices echoing 'this is all your fault' and 'you caused this to happen' and he covered his ears to avoid hearing this because how he treated Max in the boat was enough to make him feel guilty._

_All Arizona could do is just scream as loud as he could get and when the darkness swallowed him up..._

* * *

Back to reality

Arizona was still screaming and as he got woke himself up, he began panting heavily and he looked around and sees that he's still in the cave. He held his chest to settle himself down in hopes to prevent himself from getting a heart attack after that nightmare and he laid himself back down on the ground unaware that Musaki was already awake after hearing Arizona scream.

"You okay?" asked Musaki.

Arizona didn't even bother looking at Musaki and all he could do is tell him, "This is all my fault. Because of me, Max might never be my brother again."

Musaki could tell that the nightmare had something to do with Max and he asked, "Another nightmare?"

Arizona did not respond to that question and he closed his eyes and covered his entire face to prevent more tears coming down on him and Musaki didn't have to wait for a response because he already knew he had one. He then went over to Arizona's side and said, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Arizona lets out a heavy sigh and he said, "What if he never forgives me? I would live with this guilt for the rest of my life."

A few tears formed in Arizona's eyes and when Musaki heard him sniffle, he could tell that Arizona is definitely hurting a lot and he looks at him and said, "He'll forgive you. In my family, we all forgive each other because even when bad things happen or any misfortunes come our way, we hold no grudges with each other and just move on. That's what family does."

Arizona slowly looks at Musaki with tears in his eyes and he asked, "How do you know?"

"Without forgiveness, how would we move forward and strength our relationships with each other? It would be very hard." Musaki answered.

Arizona was deep in thought that how would he move on if he keeps thinking that he'll never be forgiven or what would life be like if he never forgave himself. And he didn't want something like this to happen and live with too much guilt. He looks at him and said, "I guess you're right. I love Max like my own brother and I love him too much to just lose him."

"Don't worry. In the morning, we'll find my cuz and then, everything will be fine. I promise." Musaki said.

"Okay." Arizona said.

Both of them laid down on the ground again and Arizona closed his eyes with Max very much in his thoughts and he was hoping that he'll find the strength and the courage to forgive him.

* * *

The action will begin pretty soon!


	17. Pre Escape

This is gonna be the build-up before the big battle and the rescue!

* * *

Chapter 17: Pre-Escape

Early in the next morning, Max wakes himself up, rubs his tired eyes and lets out a yawn and while he was sitting, he was still hoping that he'll avoid being in Zai-Shin's clutches and get out of the cave before the others minus Shinoda will strike him down, so he unsheathes his claw and unlocks the door and when he steps one foot out of there, he slowly walks past the cells and he seeks almost everyone in there, whether they were alive or dead. The latter part creeps him out when he sees bones, dried blood and dead bodies around the cells.

"This place gives me the creeps." Max whispered.

Just then, he heard some footsteps coming in and when he turned around, he assumed it might be Zai-Shin coming in so he turned to hide, but as he looked up, he saw that it was only Shinoda making his way to Max's cell and to his relief, he quickly walked over to him and got to Shinoda's side, yanking on his shorts.

Shinoda looked down and he saw Max standing there and he was shocked to see him freed all by himself and asked, "How'd you get out of there?"

Max shows him his claws and that intrigued Shinoda to see that he's very smart for his age to unlock the cell door by using his claw and said, "That's amazing."

"I'm full of surprises." Max added.

Shinoda got down on one knee and he said, "Get on my back, kid. I'm gonna get you out of here."

Max climbs onto Shinoda's back and held onto his shoulders and as he stood up, Shinoda tells him, "Just hang onto me and try not to make a sound. Zai-Shin and his followers could hear us from a mile away."

Shinoda began walking all the way towards the cave while holding Max, both of them unaware that Zai-Shin is watching them from above the prison, watching his plan unfold and he said, "Good work, Shinoda."

He then follows them around in hopes of putting them to where his army is and he was waiting for the big surprise to come in and less than 6 minutes later, he sees Shinoda taking a different turn and to Zai's surprise...he's taking the exit.

"What? No, no, no, no, no, no, no way. He's supposed to go there!" said Zai-Shin, in a whispered shout.

He silently growls in frustration and heads over to the room where his army is to tell them that the plan has been foiled, but all of a sudden, his team surrounded him with some weapons and when they stopped and actually realize that it's Zai-Shin, they held their weapons down and Boshu went up to them and said, "We thought you were that little hairball."

"Do I look like a friggin' little white tiger cub to you? Shinoda's taking him out of there!" Zai-Shin shouted.

All of the Alpha wolves and leopards gasped in shock after hearing that news and one leopard said, "What do we do, master?"

Zai-Shin stuck out his mace from the wall and he said in a menacing tone, "Take care of it."

* * *

Meanwhile, Shinoda makes his way close to the exit towards the cave and he looks up at Max and he asked, "You okay?"

Max nodded his head quickly and he takes a deep breath and said, "Don't worry, we're almost there."

Just when they were about to head close, they could hear footsteps coming from behind them and Shinoda stopped and looked around to see who's behind them and when he turns around, there was nothing and it seemed very strange not to hear anything come from behind him and Max whispered, "What was that?"

"I...I don't know. You ever get the feeling we're being followed?" Shinoda whispered.

"No."

They figured it was just nothing and just continued walking to the exit and another set of footsteps come closer towards them and it started to creep both of them out and Shinoda turns around to see if someone's following them and he panted heavily and told Max, "Stay close to me."

Max felt completely scared to imagine that someone's gonna kill him and he started shaking and whispered, "No problem there."

Then, as they almost set one more step towards freedom, an ax suddenly stuck it's way to the wall, alarming both of them in a second. Shinoda panted rapidly and he had no idea where did that come from, but when he looks up, he sees one of the Alpha wolves jump out with a samurai sword to attack them and ends up falling down on his face.

And it sets the tone that all of the Alpha wolves and the leopards began chasing after Max and Shinoda with a gamut of weapons coming in and they looked around and start running as fast as they can and when they saw the doors of the exit beginning to close, Shinoda ran as fast as he could to make it in time and he said, "Hang on, Max!"

The doors were beginning to close all the way down and just in time...Shinoda slid down on his stomach and got out of there before the door even closed. Both of them panted heavily and in relief that they got out of there in time and Shinoda looks at Max and asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Let's do that again." Max added.

Shinoda chuckled softly after that comment and he gets himself up, still carrying Max on his back and he said, "Let's go find your friends."

Back inside the cave, Zai-Shin was outraged that they actually escaped before the door even trapped them in and he shouted, "How could you all be so outsmarted by that Omega and that little brat?"

He threw the sword through the wall in anger and Boshu went in and said, "I heard that they're gonna find the brat's 'rescuers'."

Zai-Shin twitched his eye with that comment and all he wants is Max and Shinoda dead and he said, "Gather up the other soliders. We've got some work to do."

Everyone despered to get the other soliders while Zai-Shin started bellowing out loud to gain obvious revenge over these two, especially Max.

"I'll burn your nine lives down in flames...TIGER CUB!" Zai-Shin shouted.

* * *

And the actual showdown begins! Happy 4th of July!


	18. Warfare on the Island

This is where the battle/rescue adventure starts! Imagine a really awesome song for this sequence! Personally, I imagine three Linkin Park songs for this one: 'New Divide', 'Crawling' and the new song 'Burn It Down'. If you haven't heard of that song, please do so! On with the story!

* * *

Chapter 18: Warfare on the Island

Meanwhile, Arizona and Musaki began making their way through another part of the island and almost immediately, Musaki began to sense that there's a very mysterious yet scary vibe around this part and it almost creeped him out and he said, "Zona, this place seems like you'd see out of a scary manga comic book."

Arizona didn't argue with that and already sensed that this place looks dangerous enough for someone to cross upon and he said, "Yeah, but it looks very real. We gotta find Max and get out of here."

But both of them were totally unaware that Max already saw them from on top of a tree with Shinoda and he immediately pointed towards both of them and he whispered, "It's them! It's my cousin and my best friend!"

Shinoda took a good look at Musaki and Arizona for a minute and that drove Shinoda in a state of confusion to see that a panda could be Max's cousin and he turns to Max and asked, "How can a panda be your cousin?"

"I was adopted." Max answered.

Then, the confusion turned into surprise and then into understanding very quickly and he said, "I see your point...I think."

Both of them got down to the tree and wanted to contemplate on how are they gonna get their attention and Max asked, "What do we do?"

Shinoda took a few deep breaths on this as the started to think about how this can be pulled off without a hitch and then he added, "Depending if these scumbag of soliders won't follow us...you follow me from behind and when they see me, I'll make sure you get back with them safe and sound."

Max nodded his head at that idea and he said, "I hope it works."

"Just trust me."

Max then grabs onto Shinoda's back and he held onto him and made their way towards both of them, but just as they were about to make their way...they found themselves surrounded by the Alpha wolves and the leopards all holding arrows, knives and swords in every tree waiting to attack. Max then realizes that this is how it all started and one Alpha wolf asked, "Think you'll escape us with that little runt, didn't ya, Omega?"

Shinoda growls at the Alpha wolf in deep fury and he said, "Now that you mention it...yes. And there is no way that I'll surrender him to you scumbags!"

"We draw the line at scumbags!" one leopard solider exclaimed.

"Now drop the kid so we'll burn him in flames!" Boshu spat out.

Max whimpered in fear when he heard that they were gonna burn him up and he said, "Shinoda, don't let them take me!"

"Don't worry about it, Max. They'll have to get through me first." Shinoda answered, in a hushed tone.

With the solider's weapons armed and ready to strike at them, Shinoda breathed heavily as he made a quick-draw attempt to get out of harm's way and then he looks at a certain open spot on the tree and he immediately jumped up with Max in tow and the soldiers quickly drew their arrows to shoot at him, but Shinoda caught them all and threw it directly at them, each missing them. Then, he grabs ahold of another branch and he kicks the crap out of the soldiers and then, he jumps out of there and lands on the ground and started running.

"Get the Omega deceiver and the kid!" one Alpha wolf shouted.

They began running as fast as they could, dodging the fury of the solider's path and all Max could do is cover his eyes and hope that it'll all be over. Then, Max quickly looks up and sees Musaki and Arizona still walking towards the area and he said, "Take me to my cousin and my wolf brother!"

"What, you see them?" asked Shinoda.

Max quickly nodded his head and then Shinoda turns and sees them, but they're too far away from them and he said, "We have to get to them as soon as possible!"

Shinoda made an alley-oop and made their way to where they were, but they were soon stopped by the soldiers, weilding a war hammer, a mace, a rope, some torches and knives to go for attack. All of them looked very angry and are ready and willing to kill both of them and two wolves came up from behind, laughing manically getting close to Max.

"Get away from me!" Max screamed.

They then kicked Shinoda in the back and tripped his legs, in which both wolves snatched Max from him all while he's kicking and screaming. Shinoda got up and tried to get them, but four wolves pummeled him down and planned to tie him up. He grunted with every effort to break free and even punched them in the face, which added to the Alpha wolves' fury.

Max was gonna help Shinoda out, but the wolves beat him to the punch and thrashed him down with their knuckles and one brought a sword in to slay Max. He backed away from them until he reaches a tree, thereby trapping himself. He looks over and sees them holding a torch to burn him while they're laughing maniacally.

"Help! Somebody help me!" Max shouted.

The wolves laughed loudly and one said, "No one can hear you and no one can help you! Now, prepare to die!"

"NO! PLEASE! ARIZONAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Max screamed out loud.

The scream echoed so loudly that it perked up Arizona's ears to hear loud and clear and soon enough, he could hear Max's voice from further away. He lets out a gasp and he hears another echo again and this time...he knew it was Max. Musaki looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's Max." Arizona replied.

"What?"

"It's Max! He sounds like he's in trouble! He needs us now!" Arizona added and then ran off.

Musaki followed him and hopes that it's Max and soon enough, they could see someone holding a torch as if something's gonna be set on fire and the more Arizona ran, the more quickly and closer he's getting because he can hear the sound of someone bragging and he was just in time to hear these words...

"And for escaping, you...will...be...slayed and burned! But first, we're gonna slice your head off for the master!" one Alpha wolf shouted, holding the sword.

That was enough for Arizona to hear and he lets out a ferocious, angry bark that brought everyone else's attention and Boshu looks up and asked, "Who the hell was that?"

"You said a bad word!" Max shouted.

Boshu went over to Max and scratched him in the face and shouted, "Shut up, maggot!"

Just as he was gonna place his sword into his head, they were quickly alarmed by a sai being thrown out of nowhere and almost hit on one of the Alpha wolves' crotch and almost immediately, he looks up and shouts, "Show yourself!"

"You leave my best friend alone!"

Then, he looks up, only got get pummeled onto and beaten up in the process and to Max's surprise, it was Arizona. He could not have been more happier to see him and he said, "Big brother!"

Then, Arizona threw one Alpha wolf to a tree and and then got towards the others who got near Max and beats them up as quickly as possible and he snatched the torch from them and he said, "You don't want none of me!"

The other Alpha's were willing to tear him up again, but Arizona was quick and fierce to take them down and while they did that, Max looks over and he sees Musaki right behind him, giving him a wave and he hopped onto his back and asked, "What took ya?"

"Just be glad we found ya." Musaki said, giving him a wink.

Two leopards came over to Musaki, planning to ax him down and one said, "You got something that belongs to us!"

"Your killing spree has been cancelled due to...we're taking Max out of here!" Musaki shouted, drawing his samurai sword out.

The leopards came over to kill him and Max, but Musaki threw him in the air and kicked them in the heads and punched them in their faces, flipped them and bashed them into a tree. He quickly ran over to get his other sai and then turns to Arizona and said, "I got Max!"

After hearing that and punching one more Alpha wolf, he quickly runs over to Musaki and plans to escape, but Max stops and said, "Wait! We can't leave Shinoda!"

They looked over and sees the leopards and the Alpha wolves planning to burn him down after being tied up to a tree and Boshu went in and said, "Prepare to get Omega flam-bed!"

Shinoda grunted with enough effort to set himself free, but he couldn't escape the rope burns on his legs, arms and parts of his body and he said, "I was glad to get Max out of the likes of you monsters! And I already know that you assisted Zai-Shin for killing my son!"

"Well...you're gonna join the little offspring pest as we say goodbye to your life!"

Just then, Max comes behind one of the Alpha wolves and bit his tail, which gave him a huge howl and dropped the torch and then he ran over to Shinoda and sheathed his claw to free Shinoda out of the ropes and after that, he looks at Max and said, "Thanks, Max. I owe you one."

"Come on!"

Just then, Shinoda followed Max to Musaki and Arizona and then, Max said, "Shinoda, this is my cousin, Musaki and my wolf brother, Arizona. Guys, this is Shinoda. He was the only one that could get me out before the others could kill me."

That surprised both of them that one is actually against them and that he was willing to help Max get back to them and Shinoda tells them, "We have no time. We need to get out before Zai-Shin comes to kill us all."

Musaki looks over at Arizona and decides to just go with it and he said, "Worth a shot."

Almost immediately, they started running as fast as they could to avoid getting mobbed by these soliders and Arizona quickly asked, "How much further are we getting?"

"All we have to do is get out of Zai-Shin's presence as quickly as possible." Shinoda answered.

Max climbs ahold on Arizona's side and got on his shoulders and he looked at Arizona and said, "I knew you'd come for me."

"Of course I came. You're my buddy." Arizona added.

Musaki then chimed in, by saying, "And I'm your cousin. Did these ugly people try to hurt you?"

Max really did not want to answer that question because he's been through enough already and said, "Don't remind me. You won't believe what they were gonna do to me."

Arizona didn't even have to hear whatever else Max was gonna say after that and he said, "If they come over and try to hurt you again, they're gonna get a severe dose of Omega butt-kick!"

"With a side of Xing-Fu samurai sai sword!" Musaki bragged.

All of a sudden, Shinoda looks up and he sees one solider coming in running through trees and he said to them, "We may have company coming."

It didn't take too long for them to realize that there are more Alpha wolves and leopard soldiers coming in front of them to surround them just to finish the job and Arizona growls at all of the Alpha's and said, "Man, do I _**really **_hate Alpha's."

"Try living with them for 4 years." Shinoda stated.

To add insult to injury, in comes Zai-Shin and he looks like he's ready to start a bloodbath and he looked directly at Max with mace and soon enough, Max was shaking in fear and Arizona looks over to Max and whispered, "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"The cub's name is Max, is it not?" asked Zai-Shin.

"And you're the dude who's planning to kill my cousin! What do you want, a ball of yarn?" Musaki shouted, holding out his two sai.

"I want to give this little brat the death penalty for invading in our island!" Zai-Shin shouted.

Max looks up at Zai-Shin and he said, "I was not trespassing! I was trying to find my friends!"

Then, Zai-Shin looks at Shinoda and he walked up to him and he seemed very pissed at protecting Max and he said, "You just had to go and defend this little punk and protect him when you should've did your job!"

"I did do my job...to protect this poor cub from the likes of you and to get him back to his friends!" Shinoda spat out.

Zai growls at him deeply and then Shinoda went on to say, "And I also know that you were the one that killed my son, Xi...with the other Alpha's help! All these 4 years I believed in your lies!"

Zai was surprised that he actually knew all along and he lets out a sinister smirk and said, "Yes...I killed him! And I'm glad I did...and I could do it to that little tiger cub if I got the chance!"

Arizona growled at him loudly and he looked extremely pissed that he would do that to Max and he said, "If you touch a single fur off of my little brother..."

Zai-Shin got into Arizona's face and he said, "What are you gonna do...Omega?"

He lets out a ferocious roar and bark after that comment and he lets out a very angry and menacing look in his face and said, "If you plan to get anywhere near Max, you'll have to go through me!"

"And me too!" Musaki added.

"Same here!" Shinoda barked.

Zai-Shin could see how this goes and the fact that Shinoda's with them made it easier for him and his army to strike them and he said, "Men...attack them!"

"Arizona, take Max somewhere safe now!" Shinoda bellowed.

Max grabs ahold of Arizona's back and runs off while the others began chasing him, which leaves the others to fight. Musaki looked up at Shinoda from behind and said, "This is definitely gonna be a hell of a fight."

* * *

Trust me, the action is getting good! Now, what songs you think would be fit for this chapter? Part two of the big battle is coming up!


	19. Keeping Max Safe

There are two parts of the name of the chapter. This the first part of the chapter and the second part is in another chapter. Now, I promised you guys action and here it is! I imagine songs like 'Frontline' from Pillar, 'Know Your Enemy' from Green Day and 'Misery Business' from Paramore. Well, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 19: Keeping Max Safe

Arizona began panting heavily as he ran while holding onto Max in his shoulders, to prevent any soldiers coming in to harm him. Max looks up at him and Arizona stared at him with a look that assures that everything's gonna be okay and that he'll protect his little buddy at all costs. Max buried his face under Arizona's armpit and releases a soft purr, just from embracing his wolf brother.

As much as Arizona's heart melted, he was focusing more on keeping him safe and just as they were almost there, six different leopards stopped them in their tracks and one of them went up to Arizona and said, "Fork over the kid, Omega!"

Arizona just kicked him in the groin and continues to run while the leopards were chasing both of them and Arizona felt like he was running out of options to put Max somewhere safe and all of a sudden, he seeks the cave he and Musaki were sleeping in and he thought that it was a good way to keep Max out of harm and he quickly slides under there, waiting until the coast is clear.

The six leopards looked stunned and also confused on where they went. One asked, "Where'd they go?"

"Maybe that Omega wolf ate him." another leopard added.

Arizona groans at their stupidity to think that he would actually consume a young tiger cub and whispered, "Man, they're dumb."

"Let's look over there! We'll jump up and attack them!" a third leopard exclaimed.

The second leopard snapped his finger at that idea and he said, "Brilliant! Moochi, you're not as dumb as we all thought you were!"

"Thanks, Pooka!" Moochi exclaimed, but then got really offended by that other line he stated and continued on saying, "Hey, wait a minute!"

As soon as the six despersed, Arizona pops his head out of there and he sees that it's all clear and he lets out a sigh of relief and then Max asked, "Are they gone yet?"

"Yeah, they are." Arizona said, panting.

Max got close to him and tugged at his waist and he then told him, "I am so glad you came back for me."

"I know you are, Max. I'm glad that you're okay too. Stay here and I'll deal with these guys." Arizona said, standing up.

Max felt completely scared of the fact that Arizona's actually going out there all alone to take them down and he grabbed ahold of his leg and said, "Don't leave me! They'll kill you!"

"They deserved it for trying to slice your head off, burning you and making you their Sunday dinner!" Arizona shouted.

"I know, but...but they're monsters. You'll never come back." Max said, crying.

Arizona knew that Max would be saddened if something had happened to him just as the same thing when Max was separated from them and he lets out a huge sigh and he turned to Max, got down to his level, lifted his chin up and wiped his eyes for him and said, "I will come back. For now, I've gotta keep you safe so they won't have to do these things to you. The last thing I would want is for you to be killed by those guys. It would crush your family if you died...and so would I. I love you too much to lose you. And I know I won't leave you, but I have got to do what I have to do...because I'm your wolf brother and it's my responsibility to protect you."

Max hugs Arizona tightly and cried in his shoulders and Arizona embraced the hug as if it might be the last one...or so they would think. Max asked, "Promise me you'll come back?"

"I promise." Arizona whispered.

They let go and Arizona steps out of the cave as Max watched him go alone to confront these leopards and he whispered, "Be careful, Arizona."

* * *

Meanwhile, Musaki and Shinoda took down 12 Alpha wolves and most of them wanted to kill Shinoda, but Musaki refuses to let that happen, so he blocked them out of the way, kicked, punched, shoved and took down 8 of the 12 while Shinoda took down four in a single one-two punch. All of the Alpha wolves laugh and mock at his moves but Shinoda could care less. He stomped on their tails, all letting out a painful howl and punches them twice and then Musaki got under one Alpha wolf's legs, raised his head up and hits him in the nuts. One let out a squeaky groan as he held his wolfhood and fell to the ground.

Musaki got up and sees the other wolves standing there in fear and he looks up at them and asked, "You want a piece of the Xing-Fu head/nut shot?"

Surprisingly, all of them ran away each covering their wolfhoods to avoid getting smacked by him and to Musaki's surprise, it was unexpected. He chuckled softly at that and he said, "Well, what do ya know?"

Shinoda looked at Musaki in amazement at this and he couldn't help but wonder how he learned that move before and he asked, "How did you do that? That was incredible!"

"Original move I used a year and a half ago. One time I crawled up under Po's legs, looking for something and I accidently bumped my head in one place that Po never wanted me to bump my head into. I don't know how it happened, but I figured that I might use it with some very villainous dudes who comes to attack and I used it ever since." Musaki answered.

"Wow."

"Want me to test it on ya?" asked Musaki.

Shinoda looks up and sees a league of leopards coming in with knives and swords coming in at them and he responded, "Not the best time to do so."

Musaki unveiled his samurai sword and Shinoda fought all of them head-on with multiple punches, throws, kicks and bashing while a swordfight ensues between the other leopards and the leopards were bombarded by Musaki's sword fighting moves as they clashed together. One even tried to swing it at him, but Musaki dodged it down while he leaned back and sideways and then he jumps and stomps on the sword, then he punches him in the face.

Two leopards growled at Musaki as they raise their swords at him, but Musaki clashed both of them down and he tripped one of them while he throws the other one down to the ground. He then does a backflip and ends up on the ground, making one leopard go at him, but Musaki had other ideas; he puts the tip of the sword directly at the sun, nearly blinding him and after that, Musaki kicked one on the face and yanked the other leopard by the tail.

Shinoda took down three different leopards and he punched them in the jaw and he sees one weilding a hammer at him, but he got out of the way and instead, the leopard slams the hammer down his groin, which made him fall down backwards. Shinoda lets out a whistle, which caught the leopard's attention and waved at him in a taunting manner.

The leopard growls at him and he said, "You made me do that on purpose!"

"Kinda like how you were gonna kill Max!" Shinoda called out.

Just then, a barrage of leopards and Alpha wolves came over to end this battle and on Alpha wolf yelled, "Attack the intruder and the backstabber!"

They all shouted as they were charging him and of course, Musaki and Shinoda went over to battle them all and a huge fight ensues throughout as Shinoda did a backflip and a little karate move to beat down 14 leopards and 9 Alpha wolves while Musaki took down 10 wolves and 8 leopards with the use of his sai, sword and his fists.

"Doing good there, Musaki?" asked Shinoda, bashing two wolves and kicking three leopards.

Musaki punched them out and then did the splits and both leopards end up getting their own heads bashed and then he stands up, looks at Shinoda and replied, "Never been better!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Arizona walks across the island alone to seacrh for the Alpha's who were gonna go after Max and he corners himself into a tree to avoid being caught and when he slowly turns around, he sees the same wolves that were gonna kill Max and he knew that he was gonna have to stop them one way or another.

"You men, search this way. You, search the caves or other places. The boss wants the kid dead." one Alpha wolf said.

Arizona lets out a low growl after hearing they were gonna search and kill Max and he was not gonna let that happen, so he quickly follows them and when they were heading the way Arizona just left, he grabbed ahold of the tree branches and then, he releases himself from there and goes up behind them.

The Alpha's turn around and sees Arizona standing there and one asked, "Who the freak are you?"

"The last person you'll ever see if you get anywhere near my buddy." Arizona answered, angrily.

Both Alpha's brought in their swords and plans to slice Arizona with it, but Arizona thought otherwise...he grabbed them by the wrists, bashed them in the heads with a tree and used their hammer and slam them in the heads, leaving them unconscious. Arizona panted heavily as he put down their hammer and walks out to scope out the others.

"Alpha's..." Arizona hissed.

Suddenly, he sees the other Alpha's coming for him and he quickly jumped up to the tree, planning to murder him, but Arizona spun his body around and then he lets go of the branch in a corkscrew position and took them down hard. He then slams down every Alpha wolf that came after him and even bites one in the butt.

Arizona pants heavily and he said, "Tell your master he's gonna get his ass kicked if he gets anywhere near Max!"

Suddenly, he hears a barrage of fights coming in and sure enough, Arizona quickly runs up to see if Musaki and Shinoda needed an extra set of help and not long after, he could see that they were in the middle of it and he graciously jumps up out of nowhere and joins in with them. He went up to Musaki and asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope. You're just in time." Musaki answered.

Musaki grabs Arizona's arms and carries his back as he spins around and lets Arizona kick the entire army with his feet and then, Arizona gets down and throws Musaki in the air and then he did a twirl around fist move and does a quadruple kick to the leopards and he throws them in the trees.

Shinoda flips them all down and he bashed them in the heads and punched them directly in the face, stomach and gut. Then, he grabs ahold of them and bashed their faces.

"Where's Max?" asked Musaki.

Arizona punched this one leopard in the nose and in the face and then he replied, "Don't worry. I put him in the cave we were sleeping in last night. I told him that he should stay there for his safety."

Musaki nods his head knowing that Max will be safe in the cave and he said, "You ought to babysit my cousins more often. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. But if anything happened to him, I'd personally like to rip someone out." Arizona added.

* * *

Back at the cave...

Max was still waiting around for Arizona's return and he started to get really worried and anxious that he might not make it back. But if he knows Arizona, he knows that he'll come back for him and that he's fighting that army that tried to kill him.

Just then, his ears heard some footsteps coming in and he was hoping that it was Arizona's, but unfortunately...in comes Zai-Shin with that scary smirk on his face as he sees Max standing there.

"Oh no..." Max said, fearfully.

* * *

DUN DUN DUNH! How good am I with suspense? Part two is coming up!


	20. Keeping Max Safe pt 2

And here's the second part of the last chapter! The songs I imagine playing in this one are; 'The Catalyst' from Linkin Park, 'Breaking the Habit' from Linkin Park and 'What I've Done' from Linkin Park.

* * *

Chapter 20: Keeping Max Safe, pt. 2

During the big army battle, Arizona could hear someone scream from a twelve mile radius and suddenly, he could tell that something wasn't quite right.

"Max..." Arizona whispered.

Suddenly, Zai-Shin shows up and the entire fight comes to a stop after his appearance and he looks at all the wolves and leopards and said, "I've learned this much; never send a huge army to do a leader's job. If you wanna get it done, you have to do it yourself."

Arizona suddenly sees him holding Max by the tail and he grew furious at this and shouted, "LET GO OF MAX!"

Zai-Shin laughed maniacally at Arizona and he said, "The only thing you'll have of him are his remains when I slice his head off, chop him into pieces and set them on fire!"

Arizona barked ferociously at Zai-Shin and he was gonna go over and release Max from his clutch, but Zai shoved him down to the ground hard and he said, "Fool! Don't you ever learn? The bad guys will win!"

Max struggled to free himself and he said, "Let me go, you freak!"

He then grabbed his tail and bit it as well, causing Zai-Shin to shriek and then, Max scratched him in the face and ran off. Zai growls at him and he said, "Come back here, you little brat! I will murder the mess out of you!"

"Oh, no he will not lay a finger or a claw on my cuz!" Musaki shouted, as he ran off with his sai.

Shinoda and Arizona followed him as well, only to be bombarded by the soldiers again and Shinoda said, "Go tend to your friend. I'll deal with these lowlifes!"

Arizona then runs out of there and leads a one-two punch on a few of the guards and proceeds to follow Musaki and when he caught up with him, Musaki asked, "Where's Shinoda?"

"He's gonna take down the entire army!" Arizona replied.

Musaki nods his head in understanding and knew the main focus would be on keeping Max as further away from walking into death's door that Zai-Shin set him in.

Meanwhile, Max runs as further away from Zai-Shin as possible, but what he didn't know or even expect is that he's quicker than any tiger or leopard and as he's gaining on Max, the young white tiger cub knew he had to go to faster and faster to avoid him. Zai became increasingly frustrated that he was still running and he shouted, "Stop right there, intruder! I order you to stop!"

Max didn't listen to what he said and just kept on running anyway until he reached a dead end and when he stopped himself, he could see that this is definitely a 200-foot drop and he backed away very slowly and then, he hears an ax being thrown directly at a rock and Max yelps in fear and turns around and immediately knew exactly who it was...Zai-Shin coming in to murder him.

He lets out a sinister laugh and brought in his knife and sword and ready to do the job. He looks up at Max and said, "Looks like there's no turning back now. No one will save you because these two don't care about you! They'd rather just leave you alone to die!"

Max covers his ears and said, "Liar, liar! Pants on fire! I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I am not listening to you!"

"Pathetic child! Well, the only thing you'll hear is the slice of your own head being chopped off!" Zai-Shin shouted, as he raised a sword at Max.

As Max braced himself for it, Zai-Shin got knocked in the head with a big rock and when he turned around, he sees Musaki coming in and he said, "Not until you hear the sound of me and Arizona stopping you!"

"Guys! You came back!" Max said, excitedly.

Arizona quickly went up to Zai-Shin and he growls at him, saying, "We overheard that lie you put out! We do care for Max and we came for him!"

"Butt out, Omega! You're far more pathetic than Shinoda!" Zai-Shin spat out.

Arizona immediately punched him in the face, flipped him and twisted him around, but Zai-Shin punched and kicked him in the face, trying to slice him off with a sword, but Arizona dodged it out of the way and he kicked his leg, causing him to trip and then it was Musaki's turn to tackle him down and he said, "You get Max! I'll handle him!"

Musaki began sword-fighting Zai-Shin and with the way their swords clashed with each other, it was like they're unstoppable and refuse to give up without a fight. Zai-Shin tried to stab Musaki, but he dodges it with every passing move he makes and he kicks him in the face too and in the shin.

Arizona comes closer to Max and he grabs ahold of his paw, assuring him that everything will be okay and as soon as Max reaches in to grab Arizona, he was suddenly shoved down by one of the Alpha wolves. One started laughing hysterically and then he picks him up and plans to drop him, which didn't sit really well with both Musaki and Arizona.

"MAXIE!" Musaki shouted.

"Put him down right now!" Arizona screamed.

One Alpha wolf taunts both of them and he said, "You want this brat? You can't have him!"

Arizona growls at him and he said, "I'm warning you! If you drop him, I'm gonna..."

The Alpha wolf scoffs and said, "Or you're gonna what? He deserves to die!"

Max grunts in effort and said, "Put me down now! I'm scared to die!"

The Alpha wolf places a knife towards his throat and that was the last straw for Arizona and he said, "Slit his throat and you'll pay the full penalty!"

"Listen here, wolf! This little monster would've been better off raised by real wolves...and got killed by some too!" the Alpha said, laughing.

Max bit his finger and that caused the wolf to howl in pain as he releases him and that made him mad and he said, "That's it, you little...!"

He comes over to strangle him, but he rolls him down the ground and falls off the cliff, but Max held onto it with his claws stretching up towards the base of the hill.

"Arizona!" Max screamed.

"Don't move, Max!" Arizona added.

Max looks down on the ground and sees the entire opening and with fear in his eyes, he lets out a whimper and said, "No problem there."

On the other side of the cliff, the one Alpha wolf was still gonna do his job to kill Max and when he went towards him, he laughed sinisterly and said, "I'm gonna use you as my personal lunch!"

But Arizona wasn't gonna let him have it and he immediately stomped on his fingers, letting him howl and then, he lets go of the cliff and just falls down 200 feet below the cliff and after that, Max is starting to lose his grip and as Arizona comes over to save him, he falls down as well, but only grabbed onto another set of a cliff, still holding on for dear life.

Arizona looks at Musaki and he said, "I gotta get Max!"

"All right, you take care of him!" Musaki exclaimed.

Suddenly, as Arizona was ready to rescue Max, the other leopard and Alpha wolves army comes in full circle to complete the job, but Shinoda beats them down and another fight ensues. Musaki looks up and sees Shinoda coming in and he said, "How'd you get here?"

"A little game called Alpha chases the Omega and the Omega wins." Shinoda replied.

Meanwhile, Arizona slowly climbs down from every rock until he notices Max still holding on towards the edge of the cliff and he said, "Are you all right?"

Max looks up and sees Arizona beneath him and he said, "Get me out of here, please! I don't wanna fall!"

With some quick thinking, Arizona gives out his tail and puts it on Max's whiskers and he said, "Grab onto my tail!"

Max suddenly feels his claws slipping out and he was scared to fall down and he exclaimed, "I can't!"

"Yes, you can!"

"I'm too scared to let go!" Max said, crying.

Arizona looks at Max and he said, "Listen to me, you have to grab onto my tail so I can carry you back to safety!"

Max almost slips and looks at the ground in a huge array of fear and he asked, "But what if I fall?"

"You won't! Trust in your wolf brother! Just grab onto my tail!" Arizona exclaimed.

Max still feels scared about letting go, but he knew that Arizona is one to never break his promises to anyone, including Max, so he grabs onto his tail with one hand and as Max climbs onto his back, Arizona puts him on his shoulders and with one look, he can see that he's on top of Arizona's head and he said, "I did it!"

"I told you that you can do it!" Arizona exclaimed.

Arizona climbed back in with Max in tow and as they got to the top, the fight was still on and Arizona ran over to the other wolves and leopards and beat them all down and with Musaki tackling down Zai-Shin and suddenly, Shinoda comes from behind and beats Zai down a notch and pummels him into a wall and then, Zai grabs a hold of his mace and plans to chuck it at Shinoda, but misses on each time...until he slams it on Shinoda's foot, causing him to scream in pain.

"SHINODA!" Max screamed.

Zai-Shin turns around and he sees Max coming by and he was gonna do what he set out to do...kill Max and when he laughs maniacally at him, he yells out, "It's time to meet your doom! Say goodbye, little cub!"

Just as he was about to slice Max's head off, Shinoda throws one of Zai-Shin's arrows and aims it at Zai's back, causing him to scream in pain and as he removed it out of him, Max ran back towards the inside of the cave and not long after, Musaki and Arizona managed to beat down and throw every soldier out of the cliff until Zai was the last one standing. Outraged that soldiers were defeated, Zai-Shin lets out a very ferocious roar towards alll three of them.

"That's it! This ends now!" Zai-Shin screamed.

He was gonna kill both Musaki and Arizona with his sword, but all of a sudden, Max scratched him in the butt, causing him to scream in pain and he was about to kill him as well, but Arizona tackled him down to the ground and punched him in the face and then he stops and said, "In the words of my friend, Max...tag, you're it!"

He then shoves and punches Zai and falls down to the ground at 200 feet into his death and when Arizona looks down, he lets out a deep breath and he said, "Well...this is your end."

Max slowly gets out of the cave and he said, "Arizona!"

Arizona turns around and he sees Max running towards him and there was nothing that he would want more than to just hug him and he runs towards him and Max jumps into his arms and hugs him tightly while he was crying. Arizona was also on the verge of shedding tears as well because he felt so happy to see him again and after all these days of being separated, they were found again.

"I'm so glad you came back." Max said, sobbing.

Arizona lets out a few tears and he said, "I was so scared that I'd lose you. I'm so glad you're okay."

Musaki then comes over to him and he looks at Max for a second and he too was also in tears and said, "I thought I would never see you again."

Max comes over and hugs Musaki as well and he whispered, "I love you, cuz."

"I love you too, Max." Musaki added.

Arizona comes over to Max and he said, "Everything's gonna be okay."

Soon enough, Max looks up and he sees Shinoda in pain and he runs over to him and he asked, "Are you okay?"

Shinoda groans in pain and he saw some blood come out of his foot and he replied, "Zai got me good."

Musaki and Arizona quickly went over to him and he could sense that he was hurt really bad and Arizona said, "That crazy freak of a leopard really got him good."

Max became more worried about Shinoda and he asked, "Is he gonna be okay?"

Musaki looks up at him and this is a dire need of emergency and he said, "We must take him back to the campsite."

Musaki and Arizona helped carry him up using his arms and Max went along with him as they left the battlefield and made their way back to the campsite to give Shinoda ultimate medical care.

* * *

Man, that was a huge battle! So...what's gonna happen next?


	21. Safe and Sound

After some intense moments, I thought it was fair enough to bring in an emotional and heartwarming moment between Max and Arizona. This first part is Musaki and Arizona goes back to the campsite with Max and Shinoda and the other half is told in Arizona's P.O.V.

* * *

Chapter 21: Safe and Sound

Back to the campsite

Musaki sets Shinoda down on the ground, closer to the fireplace and Shinoda still sees the blood coming out of his foot and he started breathing heavily as soon as the pain from his leg becomes more sharper. He then looks over at Max and he sees him feeling worried and he reaches his hand out to pat him in the head and he cracked a smile and said, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Almost immediately, Musaki comes back with some shaolin wrap and Arizona got some water to help ease Shinoda's bleeding down a bit and he brings in a rag from Musaki's satchel and soaks it down and places it on Shinoda's foot, in which he lets out a little shudder from it.

"I guess I should've told you it might sting a little." Arizona added.

Shinoda chuckled softly and said, "Yeah, I should've gotten a proper warning."

Arizona chuckled softly at this and said, "It helps with cleansing the cuts."

Shinoda went from tense to calm in a matter of seconds after Arizona soaked his injured foot with water and half of the blood is gone and then Musaki wraps it around with shaolin wrap to stop the bleeding and when Shinoda looks at it, he was stunned to believe that he was still alive after that battle and he looked at Arizona and asked, "Zai-Shin's dead, isn't he?"

"Afraid so." Arizona responded.

That didn't seem to bother Shinoda at all and he said, "Eh, it was meant to happen anyway. I hated working for that leopard."

Musaki sat down on the edge of the campfire and he asked, "If you hated him, why'd ya work for him?"

Shinoda lets out a deep sigh and figured that question was coming up, but he was able to shake it off and just let it out. He then told him, "He made me work with him after he held my family hostage and killed my son, Xi. I knew that if I didn't do whatever he said, he was gonna kill them. I felt used and betrayed by that leopard after I heard that he was the one that killed my son, not the Alpha wolves."

"You know, it was a good decision to defy his orders to kill my cousin." Musaki commented.

Shinoda looks up at Max, who's sitting between him and Arizona and he lets out a chuckle and said, "Max reminds me of my son, Xi...only his eyes were a little bigger than that. But when I looked at him, I ask myself why would any soldier or Zai-Shin kill a little cub? It's just unfair. That's when I knew I had to do something to get him back to you guys."

Arizona couldn't help but feel relieved that he took care of Max while he and Musaki were looking for him and he puts his arm around Max and said, "It's not much, but I'm really glad someone like you would actually take care of my little buddy. I know you had to go to extreme lengths to do that."

"The one thing I regretted is watching my son die years ago...so I couldn't let that same thing happen to this little guy." Shinoda added.

Musaki looks up at Shinoda and he said, "Dude, I don't know how else to thank you. I mean, you worked with a crazy villain willing to destroy the lives of innocent people, but you had the strength to defy him and bring Max back to safety. That's real strength."

Shinoda was flattered by that comment and he said, "Hey, it was nothing."

* * *

Hours later...(Arizona's P.O.V.)

I sat near the firewood by myself, just thinking about everything that had happened between the pst couple of days and I still felt really bad and guilty for yelling at Max on the boat that day. I still couldn't get this moment out of my head and I'm really afraid that he would never forgive me. But I wouldn't blame him if he didn't anyway because I knew that I would screw up being the best big brother. I want to forgive him, but I'm really scared about what he might say, like if he's still mad at me for what had happened. I just don't know what to do.

Suddenly, Musaki comes out of the hut and he sees me sitting all alone and decides to join my company, which I thought I might need it but I'm still used to being alone and things like that. He looks in my eyes and asked, "What's on your mind?"

I took a deep breath and replied, "Everything. It's like overwhelming to me. I just kept thinking about what would've happened if I hadn't have yelled at your cousin after being harassed by those Alpha wolves back in the boat."

Musaki looked at me and he could sense that things would've been different had I not had hurt Max's feelings that day and he said, "Maybe you could've cooled yourself off a little bit. But I think Max was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I was like out of line what I said. I didn't really mean to hurt him." I added.

Musaki puts his hand on my shoulder and when I looked at him, I can feel tears coming out of my eyes. I tried to fight it, but they let it fall down of my face for Musaki to see. He then said to me, "You still love him as a brother, right?"

I wiped my tears away and I replied, tearfully, "Still do."

"I think you need to set this right. As I said before, you need to fix this and Max will still love you, no matter what. Most big brothers lose their cool with their younger siblings at times, but they would never intentionally hurt them. But that doesn't mean they're not brothers anymore."

What Musaki said made a lot of sense to me. Max is like my little brother to me just like he's Musaki's cousin and I know I would be willing to give up my life for him if the time comes. I'm still struggling on what I might say to Max, but I know if I keep holding myself back, what will our brotherhood be like? I wouldn't want that to go away. He's like the only one I would consider being my first tiger friend and to see it go away would crush me.

Just then, Max pops out of my hut and he was sitting near me and he said, "Hi."

I looked at him directly and also said, "Hi, Max."

Musaki could see us together and he excused himself back to the hut and as soon as he left, I was deeply nervous about what I might say to him. I looked at Max for a while and he looked at me and there was an awkward silence brewing in. Then, Max turned to me and said, "A big Omega saved your butt."

I cracked a little smile and actually laughed at that comment because I know Max always likes to make a joke when I feel down or anything. But it's actually true. I bit my lower lip for a second and I looked at Max directly in the eye and he said, "Max...about what I said back in the boat...I just want to say that I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" asked Max.

I let out a deep sigh and I was overwhelmed with so much emotion and guilt coming inside of me that it made it harder for me to let it out and I told him, "For...yelling at you for no reason. I was just angry."

Max looked a little sad and I already knew why he was and I think I deserved that look in his face and he asked, "Did I do something to you to make you mad at me?"

That question shattered my heart into a million little pieces and I replied, "No. You never intended to, anyway. I wasn't really mad at you. I was just mad that those dumb Alpha wolves humiliated me back when we took a little break from boating. All you did was ask me if I was okay and I just lost it completely."

Max looked at me in the eyes and he could see that they were getting misty-eyed and I continued saying, "It wasn't what you did, but it was what I did. I yelled at you for no reason and you didn't really deserve that. What really messed me up is that I was the one that embarassed you and hurt your feelings for no reason. If I had time to calm myself down, none of this would've happened."

Max walks over to me and he grabbed ahold of my waist and said, "Hey, you made a mistake."

The one mistake that I truly regretted since then and I blamed myself for what had happened during that time and I told him, "Some big brother I am, huh? You probably hate me after what I did."

Max looks up at me and he said, "I would never hate you. I never would. And it's not your fault. You just had a bad day, that's all."

I stroked his head and said, "I know, but it still hurts. I don't want our brotherhood to fall apart. When I saw you falling down on the boat in the storm, I was definitely scared that something might happen to you and when me and your cousin was in the island, I was afraid that someome might come and hurt you. It would kill me if you had died and I would never forgive myself if that happened."

My voice began to crack after I said those last words because I was on the verge of breaking down in tears as I kept replaying that thought in my head and I covered my face so Max wouldn't see me cry. But when he grabbed ahold of my paws and saw my eyes filled with tears, he looks up at me and said, "My dad told me that it's okay to cry. It just shows that you have a heart and you do have one. I was actually afraid that I would never see you again. I look up to you as my big brother and I don't know what my life would be if you died."

I placed my hand over Max's shoulder and I saw his tiger eyes welling up in tears too and I told him, "You'll never lose me. I'll always be here for you because I love you."

Max lets out one tear rolling down on his face and he said, "I love you too, Arizona."

He hugged me tightly and I embraced the hug with tears rolling down on my face and Max was also crying and I knew in that moment that I would always be here for Max, because I love him too much to lose my only little brother. The feelings of regret and sorrow soon faded into light and happiness in my heart that we're brothers again.

"I promise I'll be a better brother to you." Arizona whispered.

Max lets out a soft purr as I held him and I could tell that he accepted my apology and that we're friends again. I didn't want to let him go because I didn't want this to end.

We were both unaware that Musaki was watching the whole thing and when he came out of the hut, he said, "That's so beautiful."

We turned around and saw him there and Shinoda stood there too, also in tears. Max looked at him and asked, "Are you crying?"

Shinoda tries to deny it, but I saw a few tears coming out of him too and I said, "It's okay. We Omegas are sensitive people anyway."

"It's...it really reminds me of my son and how I used to hold him like you did with Max. I can see why you guys are brothers, between an Omega and a white tiger." Shinoda added.

We both laughed at that comment he made and I said, "Well, Max has got a place in my heart...one that will never leave."

Not long after, I was laying down on the hut right next to Max and what I didn't know, he climbs up to my chest and when I opened my eyes, I saw Max crawling there and I let out a smile and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Can you sing me to sleep?" he asked.

I chuckled softly as I patted his head and I had no idea which one I was gonna do and I told him, "Give me a sec."

I began thinking of what song I would sing to Max and then...one thought popped into my head and as I set him down on the ground, I cleared my throat and began singing to him.

_I remember tears streaming down your face_

_When I said, I'll never let you go_

_When all those shadows almost killed your light_

_I remember you said, don't leave me here alone_

_But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight..._

_Just close your eyes_

_the sun is going down_

_You'll be alright_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe and sound_

As I looked at Max, I can see his eyes were starting to get a little droopy and I figured that it was gonna put him to sleep and I continued on singing to him.

_Don't you dare look out your window, buddy_

_Everything's on fire_

_The war outside our door keeps raging on_

_Hold on to this lullaby_

_Even when the music's gone..._

_Gone..._

_Just close your eyes_

_the sun is going down_

_You'll be alright_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe and sound_

_Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh_

_Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh_

_La la la la_

_La la la la_

_Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh_

_Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh_

_La la la la _

_La la la la_

I stopped and saw that Max's eyes were already closed as he drifted himself off to sleep and I placed him in my waist to let him sleep as I finished the song very softly.

_Just close your eyes_

_You'll be alright_

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe...and...sound..._

I patted him on the back and whispered, "Good night, Max."

I then went to sleep and for the first time, I was actually glad to have Max with me and there was no place I'd rather be than with my tiger friend by my side...even when we're in a deserted island.

* * *

Cute moment, right? The song is 'Safe and Sound' from Taylor Swift. You may be wondering when will Musaki, Max and Arizona get out of the island? The answer will be revealed in the next chapter!


	22. Finally Out of the Island

I know it may seem like it's too early to have them out of the island, but we do get to see them go back home. Also, Angel of Darkness and Wonder Panda Tan-Tan...we got some cameos!

* * *

Chapter 22: Finally Out of the Island

The next day, the sun was shining down on the hut and Musaki lets out a soft groan, opens his eyes, lets out a yawn and scratched himself as he got up and checked to see how Arizona and Max are doing and as he peeked inside there, he could see the cutest thing he's ever seen; Max curled up on Arizona's arms while his tail wrapped around him like his own blanket, still by his side. It gave him a sense that they're definitely back to being brothers again and it was a really good sight to see, which made Musaki smile.

He quietly left them alone for a second while the sun beams towards Arizona and he slowly opens his eyes and yawned a little and then he looks down and sees Max asleep, keeping his tail to keep him warm. He slowly lets out a smile and gently patted his back, in which Max lets out a soft purr and opened his eyes to see his wolf brother by his side and he yawned a little and said, "Hi, Arizona."

"Hey, Max." Arizona whispered.

Max rubbed his eyes and stretch himself in four legs and lets out a heavy sigh and Arizona could tell that he had a good night's sleep and asked, "Sleep well, little buddy?"

"Sure. You?" asked Max.

Arizona stared at him in the eyes and he couldn't have been awake more than anything and he responded, "Best sleep I ever had."

"Really?"

Arizona nodded his head and he said, "Better now that you're back."

Max lets out a smile and he comes over to Arizona and hugs him tightly and the young wolf accepted the hug and he whispered, "I missed you so much, Max."

"I missed you too, big brother." Max added.

As they let go, Arizona gets himself up and began walking out, but not before looking back at Max and he was more determined to make this brotherhood work and he said, "Come on, buddy."

Max follows him and this time, he gets up on Arizona's back and went to his shoulders all while holding onto his legs and as they walked out of the hut, they see Musaki standing near his hut and they said, "Hey, Musaki."

"Hey, guys." Musaki added.

Max looks around for a bit and realized that he's missing someone. He asked, "Where's Shinoda?"

"He's still asleep. What, with his injured foot and all." Musaki answered.

Max and Arizona went to Musaki's hut to check on him and when they actually saw him laying there, they could see the bandaged wrap was still on his foot and not long after, Max slowly got off of Arizona and made his way to his side and he poked him in the shoulder five times and Shinoda groans softly and when he opened his eyes, he sees Max in front of him and he lets out a chuckle and said, "Hey, good morning, Max."

"Morning, Shinoda." Max said, happily.

Shinoda looks up at Arizona and he said, "Hey, fellow Omega."

Arizona chuckled softly at that and it was great to meet another Omega and also said, "From one Omega to another."

Shinoda lets out a smile after that comment and he said, "Probably right."

"Is your foot okay?" asked Max.

Shinoda takes a look at it and turned to Max and added, "Still hurts a little, but I'm fine. I gotta say, you were pretty brave of you...scratching Zai-Shin in the butt."

Max started laughing at this and he said, "Thanks."

Arizona couldn't help but crack a smile after seeing that moment come over and he said, "That was sorta my favorite part of the fight too. He probably deserved it though."

Just then, Musaki comes in with a built in crutch made for Shinoda and when he got to him, he said, "This is until your foot heals completely."

Shinoda received the crutch and he couldn't believe how considerate Musaki is for giving something like that to him to get around in and he said, "Thanks. How long did it take you to make this?"

"Like late last night." Musaki replied.

Shinoda wanted to give it a try, so he grabbed ahold of it, gets himself up and walks on one foot while holding onto the crutch and he was amazed to see that it actually works. He chuckled softly and he said, "I could get used to this."

* * *

Hours later...

Arizona walked towards the beach and looks at the waves for a while and even though they're in a stranded island, it feels like he's seen the ocean in a big way. He walked a little closer to it and when he stopped, he can feel the waves coming through his feet and for some reason, it made him feel relaxed after days of intensity. He then walks around the beach, still feeling the little waves under his toes and it's something he's never felt before.

He then sits down and lets the wind blow through his fur and hair to have a little bit of quiet time. Just then, Max comes by and sits down next to him and he then asked, "When do we go home?"

Arizona looks up at Max and he could tell on his face that he misses home a lot and he puts his hand over his head and he said, "I don't know, Max. But I hope we go back soon."

Max was definitely homesick and despite the fact that Arizona's by his side, he still misses being around his adopted dad, his brothers and sisters and the entire Valley of Peace. Arizona couldn't blame him as he misses the Valley of Peace more than anything and he wished that they would all go home.

Just then, Max looks up and sees something coming further from the ocean, but he couldn't tell what it would be and Arizona saw him staring at something and he asked, "What are you looking at, buddy?"

"I don't know...but is it a boat?" asked Max.

Arizona didn't know whether if it was a boat or something else and he decided to go closer into the water and as he stepped in, he could not believe his eyes and Max's prediction really came to fruition and he said, "It is a boat."

"Hey, guys!"

Both of them turned around and saw Musaki running up towards them, in an excited pace and he said, "Me and Shinoda...saw a boat and it's coming to this island."

"We know." Arizona added.

"But...it's our boat."

Arizona and Max could not believe what they were hearing and they were surprised to hear that the same boat that they were on before they were separated suddenly came back for them and they looked at each other and Max asked, "You think it could?"

And when it got closer...they were definitely familiar with the look of it and that's when it hit them...it is their boat.

Shinoda made his way over to the three of them and he was happy for them that they're gonna leave the island, although it seemed really bittersweet to see them all go, especially Max. He's grown closer to him since being in that prison chamber with Zai-Shin and his army. He looks up at all three of them and said, "Looks like you guys are heading home now."

All four of them backed up as the boat stopped and they were curious to see who was there and to their surprise...the first person they saw come out was Mako.

"Max!"

Suddenly, Max heard his dad's voice come out of nowhere and by the time he jumped out of the ship, Max yelled out, "Dad!"

Max started running and Mako puts his arms out and he hugged him tightly and Max could not be any happier to see his dad again. Mako's eyes welled up with tears and he said, "Are you okay? I was so worried about you!"

"I'm okay. I'm just happy to see you." Max added.

Just then, Mako sees Musaki and Arizona there and he immediately came to them and hugged them, feeling really grateful that they're in one piece and said, "I'm so glad you guys are okay."

"So are we, unc." Musaki said.

Mako broke off the hug for a second and he said, "We've figured that you were stranded in a deserted island so the same boat you guys were on, we rode it in search for you three."

All three of them looked at each other confusedly and asked, "We?"

Just then, they see Cody, Samurai, Phoenix, Tsunami, Tae Kwan Do, Logan, Crash, Bang, Logan, more of Max's brothers and sisters and also Musaki's friends; Kendall, Naomi, James, Spencer, Ichi, Fu and Summer. They all got out of the ship to embrace Musaki, Max and Arizona as they were completely relieved to see them all safe and sound.

All of them were hugging, crying and feeling really grateful that they're doing just fine and Shinoda sees this as a good moment. Max looks up at Shinoda and tells him to come here and when he walked towards Max, Mako looks up at him and asked, "Who's your friend, Max?"

"This is Shinoda. Shinoda, this is my dad." Max replied.

Shinoda walks over to Mako and he was completely honored to meet the adopted father of Max and he said, "Nice to meet you, sir. Your son was definitely a strong little trooper."

"Yeah, dad...I've been imprisoned by a lot of Alpha wolves and leopards that were gonna kill me for 'trespassing' on their turf. But he was the only Omega that got me out of there so I could find Musaki and Arizona." Max explained.

"Did he, really? And there's still Alpha and Omega wolves around?" asked Mako.

Shinoda lets out a chuckle and he said, "Well...I never really participated in anything they do anyway. I wanted to bring your son to safety so he can find his family and I was willing to put him out of harm's way and bring him to safety."

Mako chuckled at this and never expected a random strnager to protect Max and he said, "I don't know what you did, but you have my gratitude for saving my son."

"Thanks."

Meanwhile, Musaki and Arizona explained the entire situation in the island to their friends and all of them could not believe what they have been through and Kendall asked, "So Arizona actually wanted to eat you?"

"Apparently so." Musaki answered.

Arizona chuckled nervously at that and he said, "You know how wolves are...we're meat eaters."

Ichi rolled his eyes at that and he said, "How long were you guys here?"

"Wasn't much, but it had been 3 days." Musaki replied.

Naomi whistled at that answer and never knew how short it had been and said, "That doesn't seem like a long time to me."

"Really? Put yourself and Kendall in here and you two were stranded longer than that. What would you do?" asked Arizona.

Naomi began thinking about what would happen if they were put into that position and she said, "I think we'd both go crazy without food or shelter...or being mated on."

Kendall looked shocked after hearing that last part come out of Naomi and he said, "My aunt and uncle would definitely freak out if I did that."

"But...how'd you guys know we were here?" asked Musaki.

"After hearing you guys were stranded and separated on this same island, the sailor that rode this boat sent in a message to us and that's when we knew that something's wrong, so we all gathered together on your boat and looked for you guys." Cody explained.

"I'm actually glad you did that."

Minutes later, Musaki, Arizona and Max got themselves back in the boat with the others, but Max took a quick look at Shinoda and he looks up to him and said, "Thank you for everything."

It was really bittersweet to say goodbye to Max and he said, "You're welcome."

"And I hope you find your family one day."

It really touched Shinoda's heart to hear this come out of Max and he got down to his level and said, "I will...and thanks for giving me the courage to stand up against Zai-Shin's plans and for coming into my life in short time."

Just then, Shinoda grabs Max and hugs him tightly, while shedding tears on his face. He then said, "I'm gonna miss you, buddy."

"Me too."

They let go and Arizona comes over to Max and said, "Let's go, buddy."

Arizona got down on one knee and Max hops on his shoulders and then he looks at Shinoda and said, "Thanks for taking care of Max while we were looking for him. It's really appreciated."

"It's the least I could do." Shinoda added.

Arizona nodded his head and said, "Take care of yourself and I hope you can see your family again."

He walks off and heads back to the boat and Max waves bye to him and as the boat was set to sail, everyone waved bye to Shinoda thanking him for taking care of Max, Musaki and Arizona and Shinoda waved abck as well, whispering, "Goodbye."

One lone tear fell down on Shinoda's face and the wind blew through his fur and he thought to himself 'Take care, Max...and be good.'

* * *

Two more chapters coming up! Naomi, Kendall, Spencer and James are owned by Angel-of-Darkness and Ichi and Fu are owned by Wonder Panda Tan-Tan. They're finally out of the island and are heading for home! There's more coming soon!


	23. Sailing Home

And they're finally out of the island!

* * *

Chapter 23: Sailing Home

Minutes after they were set sailing, Arizona stood on the front of the boat, just feeling the wind blowing through his fur again and looked at the ocean while contemplating on everything they went through since this expedition in being stranded in a deserted island. He lets out a heavy sigh and even though him and Max have reconciled, he felt completely responsible for what had occured before they were split up during the big storm.

Just then, Cody walks behind him and joined him while looking on the ocean, which made Arizona feel more guilty than anything. Cody looks at Arizona and he could tell that something is definitely bothering him and he said, "You okay, Arizona?"

All Arizona could do is let out a guilty sigh and he was scared to tell Cody what had happened before Max was separated from them and he replied, "I don't really know."

Arizona was afraid to tell Cody because he was responsible for taking care of Max and he feels as if he failed in a big way and he looks up at Cody and he answered, "While I was in the boat, before we were separated and stranded on a deserted island, I sorta...got into a fight with Max."

"What happened?" asked Cody.

"It all started when we took a boat stop and I saw a bunch of Alpha wolves taking shots at me, assuming I was in their turf or whatever and they just beat me up, pushed me in the water, basically humiliating me. I was pissed at that time when I got back and then Max wanted to know if I was okay and...I just yelled at him, saying that I don't want him around anymore and to leave me alone before I get really mad. I was so angry and humiliated that I took it out on Max...which I completely regretted more than anything." Arizona explained.

The look on Cody's face was a little bit stunned and also surprised as well and he stared at Arizona for a second and the young wolf could tell that he was disappointed that he failed on being a good brother, but Cody puts his hand on Arizona's shoulder and said, "I'm sure you didn't mean to do that."

Arizona sighed heavily and added, "No. I never intended to anyway."

"I'm not very happy about that situation, that's for sure...but when you're surrounded by 30 plus brothers and sisters that bug you, it can get on your case...even when you're mad about something." Cody added.

"I just feel like I failed as a big brother to him. I let him get lost at sea and some of those freakin' island monsters minus Shinoda tried to kill him."

"But the main thing is that you did the best you could do. Max is really lucky to have someone like you as a little brother." Cody said.

It tugged Arizona's heart to hear this come out of Cody and he asked, "He is?"

"Every day."

Just then, both of them see Max come in towards them and Arizona got down to his level and they just stared at each other in the eyes, but Max sees that Arizona's starting to tear up again and he walked over to him and gave him a hug, in which Arizona stood up and hugged him tightly while the tears started falling down on his face. All Cody could do is just watch and let this brotherly moment play on and when Mako came over to see what's up, he could tell that the love between these two grew stronger than anything.

Cody looked at his dad and asked, "Think he'll make a great Bushido-Akio family member?"

"I think he already is, Code." Mako said, with a smile.

On the other side of the boat, Ichi looks at the view of the ocean and he could see that it's one of the best sights he ever saw, but he began thinking what Musaki, Max and Arizona went through being stranded in a deserted island for much longer than what they've spent already. The fact that he could've lost his best friend...would kill him deeply. He lets out a heavy sigh as he kept contemplating that thought in his head and how relieved he is now after the others rescued Musaki and brought them back home.

"Hey, you okay?"

Ichi turns around and sees Naomi standing there behind him and he lets out a slight chuckle and said, "Hi."

"Hey. I thought I came around to see if you were okay." Naomi added.

"Oh, I'm okay, I guess. I was...just thinking."

Naomi went beside him and he asked, "About what?"

"Musaki. Sometimes, I wonder what would've happened if I hadn't seen him again that he would've stayed in that deserted island for like...ever. Or if he would've gotten killed. I couldn't imagine living my life without him." Ichi replied.

Naomi could see that Ichi started to feel sad about that thought and she puts her arm around his shoulder and she said, "I began thinking that same thought too. My boyfriend, Kendall sees Musaki as his best friend in a way after his brother died. And he's like someone I consider as a good friend and a comforter when I'm troubled or if something bothers me. I'd go back to cutting myself if I never saw him again."

That surprised Ichi the most when he heard the phrase 'cutting myself' and he asked, "You cut yourself?"

Naomi didn't want to go back to that painful memory because she had been through enough suffering in her life and then, she turned to Ichi and replied, "Yeah. I used to when I was 5 because people looked at me as a monster while I was at the orphanage."

Ichi widened his eyes at this and it was like they immediately connected...as friends, of course. He then clears his throat and said, "I've been called that name too. It's always something that stuck with me my whole life...since I killed my parents after I was born."

Naomi did recall Ichi telling him that sometime ago, but never knew why and she asked, "Why'd you do it?"

Ichi really didn't like to open up about it because it would make the wounds open up and he'd feel more worse and he said, "I don't know. I was the one to cause a fire in my home and both of my parents were killed in that house after my birth. It then followed me all my life and I never forgave myself for it all while the phrase 'monster' was being labeled in me. I didn't get to the orphanage until I was 11 and I waited 3 years until I got taken in by Master Shifu. But still...I never got over the fact that I was the one that caused my parents' death."

"That must hurt." Naomi added.

"I wanted to die because I felt like I deserved it...but I couldn't. My dad was a demon and my mom's normal, so...you put both of those together and..."

Naomi quickly understood what Ichi meant by what he was gonna say and she then said, "At least you didn't know your parents quickly. Mine were assassins. They wanted me to be in the killing business and I would be extremely scared to see them do this and I was like 3 or 4 at the time. Then, my mom killed my dad and I just wanted to get out of there, so I ran away and ended up at the orphanage where I've had the worst childhood ever. Most of the kids never accepted me as their friend, nor the headmaster...which I've always hated and I've been called a monster most of my life. Cutting myself was the only way I would cope with it and as I got older, I had to bribe the headmaster to get me out of the orphanage. As you can see, you're not the only one that had to go through a bunch of stuff that you wish could've avoided."

Ichi was surprised and he also felt sorry for her and he said, "And I thought my life was bad enough."

Naomi then went on to say, "But then I met some good friends; the Furious Five, Master Shifu, the Dragon Warrior, my boyfriend and his band, Musaki...they really accepted me for who I am and less on what others thought of me."

"How'd you meet Musaki, anyway?"

Naomi sighed heavily at that memory and she said, "I remember one time when some of the teenage bullies were being cruel to me while I was in the Valley of Peace and in comes Musaki...coming into my defense. He stood up to them for me and I thought I would never find anyone like him. We became good friends after that. What about you?"

"Actually, I mistook Musaki for Po when I saved him from some boars who were beating him up, so I did this trick where I use a certain power to make them do exactly as I say to beat themselves up and after that, I completely sensed a difference; Po doesn't have blue eyes, he's not a teenager and he's not skinny...that part I pretty much found out. We had this music extravaganza in the Valley and both of us showed off our singing voices. From there...we became best buds ever since. Personally, I was afraid that if he found out I killed my parents that he wouldn't accept me as a friend, but he understood where I was coming from that his parents were killed by Tai Lung when he was three. So he knew what losing two parents feels like." Ichi explained.

"So...you saved him when you guys first met and he saved me when we first met?" asked Naomi.

Ichi looked confused after that question and replied, "If...you say so."

Kendall walks around and he seeks Naomi and Ichi and she said, "Hi, Kenny."

Kendall smiles at her and he kisses her on the cheek, which made Naomi giggle a little and he said, "Hey, what's up?"

"Me and Ichi are just talking about how we met Musaki...separately though." Naomi answered.

"That's cool."

On top of the boat, Summer and Musaki looks at the view of the ocean together and Musaki couldn't imagine what his life would be like if he never saw Summer again and she looked at him for a while and she said, "How was the island like?"

Musaki scoffs at this and replied, "Horrible. There was like almost no food anywhere."

"I bet you were a little scared."

Musaki rolled his eyes at that comment and he responded, "I was scared for Max. Me and Arizona searched for my cousin for like days. I thought I'd never see him again."

Summer looks over at Musaki for a while and she said, "When your uncle told me that you three were stranded on a deserted island, I was really afraid."

Musaki turned around and he could see the expression on Summer's face; one of fear and sadness in her that she was worried for him and he asked, "Why were you afraid for me?"

"I was so worried that I'd never see you again...and I'd lose my chance of telling you that I had feelings for you." Summer responded.

That seemed to take Musaki by surprise to know that Summer cared for him that much and he asked, "You do?"

She nodded her head and Musaki had always thought of Summer as her friend since his days in the orphanage, but he never got the chance to tell her he likes her too. He then told her, "I was thinking the same thing too."

She turned to him and with a glance of hope in her face, she asked, "You do too?"

"Ever since we reunited for that valentine's day dance."

That made her smile and soon enough, both pandas looked into each other's eyes, got closer and placed two lips together and started kissing each other. They then broke off for air and looked at each other again and Summer said, "I've hoped my first kiss would be with someone like you."

"So did I." Musaki answered.

"Somebody's in L-U-V!"

They both looked down and saw Spencer witnessing the whole thing along with several others who said, 'Awww' to them and even Tae Kwan Do, Max, Crash, Logan and Bang started laughing that they were kissing. Both of them were blushing with a little embarassment and as they got down towards the boat, Mako went up to him and said, "I think I like the young man you're becoming...got yourself a little lady panda."

"Mako...we're just friends, that's all." Musaki added.

"Yeah, right." everyone said, in unison.

Arizona went to him and he asked, "So...are you guys?"

Musaki rolled his eyes at that and he said, "Dude, please."

Summer went towards Arizona and she stated, "It's just nothing."

She then walks away and Samurai went to his cousin with a chuckle and said, "Sounds like mating season started a little early, huh?"

"Shut up." Musaki said, laughing.

Everyone was looking forward to get back home to the Valley of Peace as the boat sets sail and as Musaki looks at Summer walk by, she turns around and smiles at him and he immediately smiled back as he walks another way and Arizona walks beside him and so did Max and all three of them walked inside the boat with a smile and they knew that nothing would break this team apart.

* * *

I decided to let Summer come back and I know that I had made her into a leopard, but then I realized that I need to bring her back into a panda. Think these two will be boyfriend and girlfriend soon? Who knows? The last chapter is coming up!


	24. Finally Home

This is it! The last chapter! And let me tell you, there are full of surprises! And this is the longest chapter I've ever written...so bear with me on this. There are pretty much several scenarios that would've been separated, but I decided to throw them all into one chapter. Hope this pays off. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 24: Finally Home

Later that evening, Arizona and Max look over the sunset of the ocean and both of them could see the beauty of it all and just took in every single second of that time period and Max looks over at Arizona and he lets out a small smile and he said, "Arizona?"

"Yeah, Max?" asked Arizona.

"I still think you're the best big brother I ever have." Max replied.

Arizona chuckled softly at that comment and it was really like he's a part of the family, even though they're in different species. But even that didn't matter because he's glad that Max is in his life as well and he said, "Thanks, buddy. You're the best little brother too."

"It's too bad we never really did see parts of China. That would've been fun." Max added.

Arizona sighed heavily at that and since being stranded on the island, they never did have any fun besides being in a boat to where they were gonna go and he totally agreed with Max on that topic and said, "Yeah. But at least I saw the entire ocean."

Musaki comes up the steps and he sees the two of them enjoying the sunset coming down and he said, "Well...the three of us are back together again. We're so glad to have you back, Max."

"Good to be back." Max said, giggling.

Not long after, Arizona made his way back to his room when Mako came over to him and he asked, "Can I talk to you for a second, Arizona?"

"Sure."

Arizona took Mako into his room and both of them sat down on his bed and already Arizona was definitely anxious about what was he gonna talk about. Mako lets out a soft sigh and he said, "Max told me about what had happened before you guys were split up in the storm."

Now anxiety turns to fear that Mako immediately knew about Arizona taking his anger out on Max and he was afraid that he would lose his trust with Mako and he just lowers his head for a second and he quietly asked, "How much do you know?"

"Plenty."

Arizona still felt really guilty about the whole thing and wished it was something he could've prevented from happening and he said, "I'm sorry, Mako. I didn't mean to be so harsh to him. I was just mad that day and he didn't really deserve it. If I would've calmed down before I blew up at him, this wouldn't have happened. I'm...I'm really sorry that I failed."

Arizona braced himself for what was gonna come, but instead...Mako puts his paw towards his shoulder and the young wolf slowly raised his head up and faced Mako, curious about why he was doing this and Mako replied, "It wasn't your fault. Besides, I lose my cool with my kids most of the time because I'm always tired or stressed. Taking care of 30-plus kids is not easy when you're a single dad. Sure, they're well-behaved and stuff, but I think sometimes they need a mom. Anyways...the point I'm making here is that it was a poor lapse of judgment...but I know you didn't mean to hurt Max's feelings."

"I know that now...but I always fear mostly that I might not be a good enough big brother to Max." Arizona said, worriedly.

Mako didn't expect Arizona to say something like that and he then said, "You want what's best for him, right?"

"Yeah. I just...want to let young kids know that they're not alone and that they need someone to comfort and guide them and make sure that they need love. I'm that guy that would do that...especially with Max. He told me that he looks up to me and I'm really scared that I might screw up." Arizona explained.

Mako could sense that Arizona is willing to do anything to make sure that every child needs love and care and he was curious to know what drove him to that determination. He asked, "How did you plan to do that?"

"Sometimes when I look at the window in Dai Ling's 'castle', I would watch kids suffer a lot when those stupid army wolves torment little children or do serious harm to them. And when I fall asleep, I have nightmares of their bodies being burned or slaughtered in the streets. It made me feel helpless in that I couldn't do anything to save him by Dai's orders. After Musaki came, I really want to be a good role model for kids to really realize that I'm the only wolf that has compassion and to show them the right path." Arizona answered.

That seemed to intrigue Mako the most after he heard Arizona say that and it made him feel like he's on the right track and he said, "Takes courage for someone your age to do that. Also, I forgive you for your actions. I know you love Max as your brother...which is why, if you want to...maybe move in with us so you can be around him all the time."

Arizona was definitely amazed to hear this come out of Mako and the fact that he can see Max all the time and live with him would definitely be the best thing ever. But as he thought about that, he began thinking about his training in the Jade Palace and everything. He looks up at Mako and then, he said, "I need to think about that."

"I know you're still gonna be in the Jade Palace, but if you ever get sick of it, I've got a bonus room for you...just in case."

Arizona chuckled softly at this and then, Mako reached out to give Arizona a hug...something that Arizona desperately needed. Mako then said, "I consider you a part of the Bushido-Akio family."

"Thanks."

Just then, Musaki came over quickly and he said, "Hey, guys! Some guy named Shamus and his team are harassing Max!"

Suddenly, the name 'Shamus' went into Arizona's head and recalls the same guys that taunted him before the episode between him and Max and he quickly got up in a fury and Mako followed him with Musaki and as Arizona got out of there, he saw Shamus and his team of Alpha wolves coming in to torment Max, by making fun of him and mocking him.

"Please leave me alone!" Max screamed.

"'I'm a little puny white tiger cub and I don't like being teased by a couple of mean Alpha wolves.'" one Alpha wolf taunted while laughing.

Max tries to walk away, but Shamus yanks his tail and picks him up and smacks him in the butt, which was enough for Arizona to see and he grew very pissed at them and he stepped up to him and said, "Let my friend go right now!"

Soon, all the other Alpha's looked up and saw Arizona standing there, seething. Shamus recognized him from before and he said, "Hey, look! It's the wimpy Omega! Coming in for another round of us?"

"Why don't you immature doofuses put my friend down and get out of the boat before you force me to do it for you?" Arizona shouted.

One of the female Alpha's went up to him and she said, "Why should we? Shamus said we're gonna put him in the water and watch him drown."

That made Mako pissed to hear her say that and he went up to her and said, "I don't know who you think you are, but if you put my son in that ocean, you will be sorry."

She flickered his nose and said, "Shut up, old man."

"Hey! You can't tell my dad to shut up!" Max exclaimed.

Two Alpha wolves got into Max's face and one said to him, "Your dad is an old lame ugly dude. He couldn't even mate a girl, let alone raise you!"

Arizona could not hear anymore of this and he went into Shamus' face and he said, "Dude, you got 10 seconds to let go of Max and leave this boat or I'll take you out myself!"

Shamus spat on his face and he asked, "You and what army, Omega?"

Just then, Max stuck his claws into Shamus' butt, which made him howl in pain, immediately releasing his grip and Max runs towards Arizona and tells him to stay behind him. Shamus growled angrily and he said, "Come here, you little...!"

Shamus was gonna go after Max, but Arizona punched him in the face and then, the other Alpha's went in and decided to take down Mako, but Mako had other plans. He grabbed both of them by the neck and bashed them on the foreheads. Just then, Musaki walks out and wanted to find out what the fuss is all about and when he saw some Alpha wolves planning to get Max, he blocked them out of the way and said, "So you must be the Alpha wolves that messed with my friend, Arizona."

"Back off, panda. Shouldn't you eat some bamboos or something?" one Alpha wolf said.

Musaki growls at that comment and he stuck his sais out and began fighting these two. Both wolves wanted to take his sais and throw it in the water, but Musaki was quick enough not to let that happen and took both of them out with his fists and legs.

Shamus and Arizona were both barking and growling and pinning each other down, punching them in the face, clawing each other, kicked and shoved themselves down and eventually, Arizona kicked Shamus in the wolf groin, letting out a tiny squeal as he fell down to the floor and Arizona got to his face and said, "Now _**I**_ kicked _**you**_ in the Alpha balls! How do _**you**_ like it now?"

Soon enough, three Alpha's chased down Max and one grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground and as Max tried to get away, one stomped on his tail and the other two were planning to beat him up, but they were soon iced by someone out of nowhere. One Alpha looked up and saw Ichi was the one doing the ice powers and he said, "Your friends have been ice-sicle'd!"

One Alpha snarled at him and leaped over to beat him down, but Ichi jumps up in the air and used his fire powers to stop him, which lead up to being thrown in the air and falls head-first into the water. He looks down and sees Max still standing there in awe and he said, "Run, Max!"

As Max began to run back to Arizona, he was stopped by Shamus and the rest of his Alpha army to finish the job and when Shamus got to him, he said, "This is what we do to a puny little white tiger like you."

"You leave my cousin alone!" Musaki yelled out.

Shamus looked up and he sees Arizona, Mako, Ichi along with Max's brothers and sisters, Naomi, Kendall, James, Spencer and Fu coming together to stop them. Cody looked at Shamus and he said, "Get out of the boat!"

"Or you'll what? This tiger cub's a freak!" Shamus spat out.

Arizona wanted to make him pay for this, but he was stopped by Musaki and he stepped towards them and just stared at him. Shamus didn't seem intimidated by Musaki's glare and laughed at him, taunting him endlessly. Musaki then closed his eyes and out of nowhere...his eyes shifted from blue to red in a mini-second, causing Shamus to laugh a little nervously to see that Musaki's eyes shifted colors.

"What is he doing?" Kendall asked.

Mako then recognized Musaki's gesture of his eyes and he said, "The eye-color shift mode."

All of the Alpha's looked into Musaki's red eyes and they could see that he's not playing around and one Alpha wolf said, "We better get out of here, Shamus."

"Th...this guy doesn't scare me!" Shamus said, half-nervous.

Arizona then comes over and gives him a low growl while Musaki's eyes quickly went from red to yellow in a pure second and that freaked Shamus out completely and then...his eyes went to just pure white and in the event, that caused the Alpha's to whimper and run out of the boat as quickly as the could and Arizona saw Shamus trying to get out and then...he bit him in the butt, making him shriek and howl loudly and immediately left the boat with the others.

Then, Musaki's eyes went back to blue eyes and he looks up at Max and asked, "You good?"

"Yeah! That was awesome!" Max cheered.

Mako then went towards his nephew and he said, "Congrats, Xing-Fu. You got your father's special power; the eye-color shift mode."

"Musaki always gets everything from his dad." Tsunami added.

Mako nods his head and he said to everyone, "It's late. Let us get some rest because we reach the Valley of Peace in the morning."

* * *

The next morning

Musaki walked across the boat and he saw a big temple close to the mountain and he could tell that they've made it back to the Valley of Peace and he lets out a chuckle and said, "We are home."

Just then, Arizona, Max and the rest of the gang looked above and saw that they've officially made it back home and when the boat was docked, every single one of them got out and each of them headed back home, saying their goodbyes and thank you's for rescuing them and before long, Summer came over to Musaki and kissed him on the cheek, which made him blush a little bit as she walks away.

"Just friends, huh?" asked Arizona, in a sly tone.

Musaki rolled his eyes at that comment and he looked up at Arizona and added, "It could happen to you too."

When they got to the village, Mako and the rest made their way back to their home and he looks at Arizona and said, "You are a good brother, Arizona. Always remember that."

"I promise." Arizona added.

"Nephew, see ya later!" Mako said, happily.

Musaki waved to him and he said, "Thanks for rescuing us!"

Max then walked over to Arizona and hugged him tightly and he picked him up and embraced that hug deeply and he whispered, "I love you, Max. Be good, okay?"

"I will. See ya later, big bro!" Max said, running to the house.

"You too...little bro." Arizona said, happily.

He lets out a big sigh, feleing happy that their friendship and brotherhood have been restored and Musaki puts his hand on Arizona's shoulder and smiled at him as well and he said, "That was a pretty good adventure."

"Yeah, an adventure I'd hope to recover from." Arizona said, shuddering.

Both of them walked back to the Jade Palace and they know they were anxious about the masters waiting to see them come home and as they finally entered towards the steps, they headed straight for the courtyard and when they opened the door, they saw Shifu standing in front of them and he said, "Welcome back, boys."

"Good to be back, Shifu." Musaki said, happily.

Shifu chuckled softly and he asked, "How was your trip?"

Arizona sighed deeply and wanted to keep himself off of the subject about being stuck in a deserted island and he quickly replied, "It was cool and stuff."

"Yeah, best time ever." Musaki agreed.

"Good. And how does it feel to come back after being stranded on that deserted island?"

Both of them looked shocked to figure out that Shifu completely knew about their being stuck in a deserted island and they looked at each other and they both said, in unison, "He knows..."

Arizona and Musaki explained everything that had happened on that trip, starting with being stuck in a deserted island to fighting off island killers who were gonna kill Max and got rescued after being stuck for 3 days. Shifu was blown away by how these two made it through and how they got out of their way to rescue Max and he said, "Wow. I had no idea you've been through something like this. Was Max okay?"

"Yeah. Lucky we were there to save him." Arizona said, in relief.

Shifu seemed impressed with the both of them and he said, "Even on vacation, you two learned the importance of teamwork in dire situations like this."

"I guess we have. Me and Zona need each other." Musaki added.

Arizona nodded his head in agreement and he said, "I don't know about you, but I need to take a bath and then take a nap."

"Yeah, me too. All that adventure has got me wiped out, bro." Musaki agreed.

Also, Arizona was in a state of nervousness and a little bit of anxiety because he didn't want anyone in the palace to know what they went through, so he went over to Shifu and he quietly said, "Can you...like not mention this to the Five and Po? I don't want them to know what had happened."

"Not mention what to the Five and Po?"

Arizona froze for a second and slowly turns around and sees Tigress along with Crane, Viper, Po, Monkey and Mantis standing behind him as if they want to know something on that trip that they didn't know about and then, he said, "I'm in deep wolf crap."

* * *

In the kitchen

"A DESERTED ISLAND?" the Five shouted.

Arizona definitely dreaded hearing them blurt out that loud at the same time and he replied, "Yes. There was like a big storm brewing and me and Musaki were split apart from Max and we ended up in a deserted island."

"And Max was lost. We had no idea that he was in the same island we were in, but I guess it was one side while we were on the other." Musaki added.

Crane titled his head to the side as if he was completely perplexed to hear about the ordeal they went through and he asked, "How did you guys manage to keep yourselves in control?"

Musaki took a deep breath and replied, "Honestly, if we were gonna survive through this, we had to work together as a team and the main thing is not to panic when something happens."

"So...what happened to Max?" Po asked.

Arizona sighed heavily at Po's question and he looked at him and said, "He got imprisoned...by some murderous islanders who said he was 'trespassing' their turf. I know Max didn't mean any harm, but that didn't stop them for planning on executing my little buddy."

Viper gasped in horror to find out that Max was almost gonna be killed and said, "That's horrible!"

"You're telling me. It consists of leopards and Alpha wolves and the leader, Zai-Shin wanted to kill him, thinking that he might tell someone about it." Arizona continued.

Monkey seemed absolutely outraged that someone that devious would do something to an innocent tiger cub and he said, "If we had found out about it, we would've knocked them down to the next dynasty and then rescued Max!"

Musaki stared at Monkey as if he was crazy and he added, "If you guys did, you'd be slaughtered by hundreds, thousands, maybe billions of that army."

"How many were there, anyway?" asked Shifu.

"About 70...minus one person that didn't want to participate in this." Arizona said.

That seemed to be put in the shock value with the others to say that one soldier didn't want anything to do with harming a seven year old and Mantis asked, "So...there was only one person that didn't want to do it?"

"Yep. His name's Shinoda and believe it or not, he's been treating my cousin like he's his own kid. He was the only one to look out for Max...in a good way, not in a evil way." Musaki agreed.

"And he's an Omega...like me." Arizona chimed in.

"You're an Omega?" asked Tigress, in shock.

Arizona did not want to go too much into detail about this Alpha and Omega thing because it's way too personal for Arizona and he lets out a small growl at her and said, "We're getting off the subject. _**Way **_off the subject."

Tigress could see that he did not want to be asked too much and she said, "Well, excuse me..."

"Let it go, dude." Musaki said, putting his hand on his shoulder.

Arizona took another deep breath and he said, "Anyway, Shinoda has been taking good care of Max for me and Musaki while we were looking for him and I guess he heard about the solider's plans of killing Max, chopping his body into little pieces and burning his remains and that they were gonna burn Shinoda just because he's an Omega. That's wolf discrimination."

"Yeah, it's like...telling a panda that he couldn't date a tiger, even if they wanted to." Musaki added.

Shifu clears his throat and he also asked, "Did you get him back?"

"We got Max back and myself, Zona, Max and Shinoda fought off all the soldiers and when Zai-Shin planned to kill my cousin, Arizona shoved him down 200 feet off the cliff." Musaki added.

Po completely stared at Arizona for a while and he said, "Dude, you ARE a badass!"

"Panda!" Shifu exclaimed.

Po chuckled nervously as he saw Shifu glaring at him for what he just said and he quickly said, "In a good way."

Arizona chuckled at that and he said, "I don't really think that way. When it comes to my friends' lives that are threatened, it's them that are most important and I have to do what I can to protect them the way you guys do for China."

Shifu grew very impressed with Arizona's words and he bowed to him directly and said, "Wise words for someone like you...at such a young age."

Arizona bowed back at Shifu and he said, "I'm starting to look forward to being an adult."

"Just don't grow up too fast." Musaki said, with a chuckle.

Shifu looks at both of them and he also said, "I'm just glad to see that you're all safe and back home with us."

They looked their faces and in those are signs of relief, joy and happiness to see them back after facing the most ordeal that they've faced and Musaki said, "We wouldn't have it any other way."

"Just remember next time when you take a little trip, make sure we want in." Tigress added.

"We'll think about it." Musaki added.

Then, he breaks the fourth wall and said to the camera, "Not gonna happen, folks."

Later that evening, Arizona walks towards the hallways with his towel wrapped around him after he was bathing and made his way to his room and he sees Musaki heading to the bathhouse as well and he couldn't help but notice that Arizona's fur was already groomed and he said, "Did you groom yourself, Zona?"

"Took me like 30 minutes." Arizona replied.

"Liked it better when it was messy."

Arizona started laughing at this and he said, "When you're a wolf, you'll get the idea. Anyways, I'm all done with my bath, so you can have a turn."

"Thanks. I gotta get in before Po does. He's a tub-hogger." Musaki added.

Both of them started laughing as Musaki made his way to the bathhouse and Arizona continued on walking to his room and when he got there, he got his fresh pair of khaki shorts and he removed his towel and puts them on and after that, he lays down on his bed, thinking about Max. Since after reuniting, the adventure they endured brought them closer together...closer than they were before.

Arizona's P.O.V.

Wow, I can't believe how lucky I am. When I think about that boat trip and being stuck on that deserted island, I guess I came back a full-grown wolf. There's no doubt in my mind that Max had to endure so much things that no one should've gone through. But in a way...he has.

Things have changed for me personally, in the last year. I went from being Dai Ling's prisoner to living it up with Master Shifu and the icing on the cake...everything I ever wanted in my life has been right here all along. I owe it all to Musaki for that.

If you're wondering if I'm still thinking about living with Mako, I still don't know. But all I know is that my life is pretty good...and that's enough for me.

I think this whole experience has brought me and Max a lot closer and made me stronger as a person and even though the odds were against us, me, Musaki and Max overcame through it. As I look forward to being 18, I think the future's holding bright for me.

Where it'll take me? No one knows...

I started smiling as I look up on the ceiling and I began hearing Max's laugh echo through my mind and I laughed a little bit as if I'm laughing with him and I let out a small sigh and whispered, "Good night, Max."

Further from Mako's home...

(Normal P.O.V.)

Max stood up on top of Mako's roof, looking up at the stars and taking one glance at the Jade Palace and began thinking of Arizona. He then lets out a smile and said, "Good night, Arizona."

* * *

And that's it everyone! It took me two days to write this entire ending out by mounds of editing and adding stuff in there, but it was all worth it! Thank you very much for reading this! Most appreciative of the amount of reviews I've gotten! If you could make a soundtrack with a list of songs on this, give me a full amount of songs! My end credit song for this; 'Safe and Sound' from Taylor Swift. Anyways, got new stories coming in so this is AniUniverse saying, laterz!


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